Cross Your Heart
by Y0UN6 R3AD3R
Summary: "Bee, where are you going?" "I am going with daddy to the store." "Can I come too? I'll be good." "No, Bug. I need you to stay here and take care of Mommy, okay? Don't follow me, I'll be back before you know it. Cross my heart." Slight AU. The reason behind the hatred between the green-eyed monster and the Alt-girl. BeChloe subplot. Suggest the other pairing.
1. Cross Your Heart And Find Me

**Title: Cross Your Heart**

 **Summary: "Bee, where are you going?" "I am going with daddy to the store." "Can I come too? I'll be good." "No, Bug. I need you to stay here and take care of Mommy, okay? Don't follow me, I'll be back before you know it. Cross my heart."**

 **Slight AU. The real reason behind the green eyed monster's rivalry with the alt girl. BeChloe subplot.**

 **Disclaimer** **: Nothing you recogonise belongs to me.**

 **Chapter One: Cross Your Heart And Find Me**

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

A universal word of advice, if you ever want to skip college and move to LA, don't tell your parents of your plans until you are safely boarded on the plane with all your luggage and a necessary amount of cash, giving them no chance of stopping you what so ever.

With that in mind, Beca Mitchell a let out huff of annoyance for the umpteenth time that day as she waited for the cab to make it's way through the crowded campus of Barden University until it came to a stop. Finally!

"Wow! This place is huge! Maybe we can find you a nice, secluded corner to build your 'dome of darkness' for the next 4 years!" Stacie suggested with a smirk as she turned to look at her companion after getting the intial view of the place outside.

The small brunette jumped out the cab, deliberately ignoring her best friend of 9 years, and immediately grabbed her mixing equipment from the trunk before the guy in BU staff shirt took the rest of their luggage out. She had barely the time to turn when she was ambushed by a fake blonde with extremely forced enthusiasm who chattered on about the entire admission process while Beca only seemed to get out the words "Baker Hall" when asked about her dorm.

Beca zoned out the blonde as she watched several other people carrying around luggage for the 'move in weekend' before school. She wondered if, like her, they were forced to go here too, not given a chance to persue their actual dream. Suddenly a car stopped by, with a kid in the back singing along the radio, a KANSAS song in fact. He turned to her, strumming on a pretend guitar as he gave her a solo with a dopey grin. Beca sympathized him with a smirk before he fell back to seat as the car drove away.

"Cute, but not your type." Stacie commented from beside her, causing her to jump slightly, startled by the close presence.

"You gave me a freaking heart attack, dude!" Beca exclaimed, now realizing that the fake blande had already left and Stacie had two whistles in her hand. What?

"Good. That's for ignoring me for the most of the ride here." The taller brunette answered with a smug grin, showing that she didn't really mean it.

Beca, however, felt guilty nonetheless. She had spent the entire flight and the cab ride with her headphones on, losing herself in the music. Trying not to think about the fact that she had to spend the next four years of her life getting a stupid and pretty much useless college degree when she could have run off to LA to persue her music dream.

She'd never meant to ignore her best friend though. Who, in fact, had been there for her all this time and all along; Stacie had originally planned to go to Berkeley University, California which, as desired, wasn't very far from where the smaller brunette wanted to live when she moved to LA. But, when Warren Mitchell decided to drag his daughter cross-country, forcing her to attend college, Stacie Conrad wasn't hesitant in the least to apply to the same school as her best friend. Hence, Stacie never had to break the 'sister before mister' code that Beca always thought was lame and downright stupid, until now, that is.

"Earth to my munchkin!" Beca snapped from her thoughts as Stacie nudged her shoulder. "No time for trips to 'midget mind land'. I know you didn't hear the fake blondie when she gave the directions to our dorm so, follow me. She got you an official BU rape whistle too. Although, I don't think you need it, you can kill any pervert by your bare hands anyways. What goes over my head is that you never even took a single self defence class yet you-"

Stacie talked at her usual 'mile-a-minute' pace, walking ahead as Beca rolled her eyes at the height joke for a moment, still standing in the same place, before she interrupted her, "Hey, Stace!"

The tall brunette turned on her heels, sporting a questioning frown that almost instantly changed to a beaming smile as soon as the next sentence was spoken.

"Thanks for staying with me."

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

"This is campus police, hide your wine coolers!"

An all too familiar voice caused the pair of brunettes to turn to the door where Dr. Warren Mitchell stepped in, laughing at his own joke. "It's just your old man making a funny."

With a unsubtle roll of her eyes, Beca returned her attention to setting up her music equipment. "Chris Rock, everybody!" She muttered to herself knowing that her father wouldn't leave her alone anytime soon.

"Hey, you must be Beca's roomate. I am Dr. Mitchell, Beca's dad. I teach comparative literature here," he said, extending a hand to Stacie. Beca scoffed over her shoulder, of course he didn't know Stacie was her best friend. Another example that he knew absolutely nothing about her.

When the taller brunette acknowledged his presence with nothing more than a blank stare, knowing all too well the illusive character of Beca's Dad, the said man awkwardly retreated his hand and turned towards his daughter. Bdca saw the exchange from the corner of her eye, hiding a smile at her best friend's loyalty, ready to end this conversation as soon as possible.

"When did you get here- how did you get here?" He questioned.

"Took a cab. Didn't want to inconvenience you and Sheila. How is the step-monster, anyways?" Beca said with pure sarcasm that somehow still went unnoticed by her father.

"She's great." He replied nonetheless, "She actually took your sis-"

"Oh no, I don't actually care." Beca finally turned to her namely father, partially wanting to stop him from going to a dangerous territory. "I just wanted to say 'step-monster'." She smirked, faintly hearing her best friend clear her throat to hide a snicker.

"So, have you been to the quad yet? There's an activities fair. And during spring time kids study out on the grass."

Beca couldn't help but roll her eyes, putting a scoff for good measure, wondering when in the hell will he take a hint. "I don't wanna study on the grass. What I wanted, was to go to LA and start my career to be a music producer!"

Stacie sighed as she saw her best friend beginning to lose her cool. It didn't happen often but in the past 11 years, she had learned to never make Beca come out of her shell if she didn't want to or the DJ would close off even more. And whenever it was the topic of her father, Stacie could only watch helplessly as the said 'shell' inevitably turned into a 6 feet solid thick concrete castle with a dragon at guard.

"I am going to the activities fair!" She announced, hoping to break the intense staring contest between the two Mitchells. The younger giving a death glare while the older stared back calmly oblivious.

"Me too." Beca said after a moment, forcing a bitter smirk and walking towards door with Stacie in lead. "I am going to the activities fair with my BEST friend, Stacie, who came here with me, all the way from Chicago, and didn't abandon me like you did!"

With that said, the brunette slamed the door in her father's face, taking a deep breath to calm herself. Eventually, a small smile made its way to her face as she squeezed back the taller brunette's hand, which had slipped into hers somewhere along the way. The DJ realized that everything she said was in fact, true and Stacie was more of a sister to her than she ever had.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

"For the 10th time, Stace, I am fine!" Beca exclaimed as she tried to pull her best friend to walk again, who had been stopping every five steps from their dorm to the quad, asking the DJ if she was alright.

"Alright! Come here," Beca said with a sigh, deciding a different approach. It may ruin her badass reputation a bit and it didn't help that she was half a foot smaller, but right now she needed to help her friend, so she put her hands on Stacie's shoulders and brought her on eye level with herself. It was an awkward scene to say the least but no body around them seem to notice.

"Look, Conrad, I am putting my street cred at risk here, so you listen to me carefully." After a confirming nod from the hunched brunette, Beca continued in a soft but stern tone, "Right now, my life is completely messed up. And even though they think they do, no one knows how I am feeling except you because you have shared a shit load of that mess with me and it's only one of the reasons why you are my best friend. So maybe I am not fine, because you usually know me better than myself, but at this moment, even after I pushed away every freaking person around me, you are still here with me. And that makes this college thing a bit more bearable, because I have you. Got it?"

Stacie nodded with a huge grin. This was one of those few moments when the shorter brunette let her guard down and Stacie felt extremely special to be able to witness it. (Also, it gave good blackmailing material, so win-win).

"Hey, Becs?" She said after a few moments of genuinely smiling DJ, "I hate to say this, but you are hurting my back now."

A look of annoyance crossed her face as Beca pushed her friend away and continued walking, hiding a small smile when she heard Stacie giggle and scramble to catch up.

The duo walked around the quad, observing various booths but none of them caught their attention. They'd seen a few 'interesting' people along the way as well. The said being a korean girl who gave them a death glare for no apparent reason as they walked by; an asian girl with really long hair and a disturbing looking trunk in her hand as she talked with an Indian guy with large hipster glasses; a fat blonde with an Australian accent standing at the DJ booth (which, unfortunately for Beca, stood for 'deaf jews'). And finally, the highlight of the day were the supposed 'college students' who were playing an altered version of muggle Quidditch behind a booth that said 'Potterhead Common Room'.

Not giving in at Stacie's pout, Beca walked them to the Campus internship booth and signed up for the radio station job. Finally something music related.

They were about to head back to their dorm to sleep off their jet lag when Stacie's eyes lit up and she pulled the DJ to the source excitement, an a capella group. Beca rolled her eyes and was about to tell Stacie what a nerd she was, when she looked at the girls standing at the booth made her breath hitch.

The reason behind it wasn't the perky redhead with crystal blue eyes. Although, in normal circumstances, Beca would've become a blabbering nervous wreck at how breathtakingly beautiful she was. But right now, most of her brain was focused on the blonde next to the dazzling figure of red and blue. The green-eyed monster with an all too familiar face and a golden mane was the person Beca dreaded to see the most.

Before she could do anything though, the redhead's voice explaining the 4 campus a capella groups made Beca look away from the blonde for a moment. Focusing on the redhead once again, "... so are you interested?"

Beca turned to Stacie who looked at her with her best puppy-dog eyes, "Sorry, Stace, it's pretty lame."

Before she could reply though, the blonde spoke up, her voice was just as Beca remembered. Her words? Not so much. "Aca-scuse me? Synchronised lady dancing to Mariah Carey chart topper is not lame. We sing all over the world and compete at national championship."

"On purpose?" Stacie asked innocently but Beca's snicker made it sound more snarky than intended.

"We performed at the Cobb Academy Performing Arts Center, you bitch!" The blonde sneered at Beca, who in turn, tried to hide her already increasing rage towards the blonde with another unimpressed snort; she silently wondered if the blonde would use the same tone towards her if she knew who Beca actually was.

"What Aubery means to say is that we're a close-knit, talented group of ladies who dream to return to the national championship at Lincoln Center this year. Help us turn our dreams into a reality?" The redhead tried to amend her friend's outburst and for a moment Beca actually wanted to do anything for the girl with those amazing blue eyes.

Her conscious, however, kicked in right at the moment and she realized that she had get as far away from the blonde as possible before she did anything she would regret, even it meant diminishing the hope in the redhead.

"Sorry, but I don't even sing. But I'll see you around." Beca said through her gritted teeth, looking the blonde dead in the eye before turning and walking away at a brisk pace. She didn't care at the moment if Stacie followed her or if she unintentionally broke the redhead's heart. All she could think about was that the blonde was Aubrey.

Aubrey Mitchell.

Her big sister.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

 **A/N: Alright. That's the first chapter. Tell me how you like it. Also, I need suggestions if I should make it 'Stacie/Aubrey' or 'Jesse/Aubrey and Luke/Stacie'.**

 **Ps. I might try to add Flo and Emily into this story because I love them and I want my Benji/Emily ship to sail too.**


	2. Cross Your Heart And Remember Me

**A/N: So, here's chapter two. Thank you for all the awesome reviews. Since Staubrey got most votes (all of them), I will do it. But right now the story will remain a little angsty. Until the auditions, at least. Stick with me?**

 **Disclaimer** **: I wish, I wish with all my heart, to own this franchise and release the 3rd part.**

 **Chapter Two: Cross Your Heart And Remember Me**

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

"Sorry, I don't even sing. I'll see you around."

Chloe and Stacie watched as the short brunette walked away speedily. The former, for some reason felt a pang of disappointment as she watched the Alt - girl's retreating figure. For the short encounter, the redhead found herself captivated by the mysterious girl, as she subconsciously noticed the smallest things about her. The way she rolled her eyes playfully as her friend dragged her to the booth. How she narrowed her eyes at her friend's pleading face, maybe even trying to hide a smile. Or how she stood up to Aubrey. The last one gaining her the most points.

The latter, Stacie was confused at her best friend's cold demeanour, even more so than usual. She wanted to go after her, but if she'd learned anything these past eleven years, it'd be that never disturb the DJ when she was in one of her zones, whether it was mixing music, playing video games or having sudden mood swings such as this. This was the territory that even the best friend couldn't cross.

Both girls had the same thought though; something was definitely wrong and the answer had something to do with the blonde who stood quietly next to them until now. "Is she always like that?" Aubrey asked rolling her eyes, just like Beca.

"Yeah... I guess." Stacie answered unsurely, looking to where her best friend disappeared in the crowd before turning to the blonde, who seemed deep in thought now, eyes still in Beca's direction. "How about I sign up?"

Chloe was the first to hear the taller brunette's question, she recovered from her daze to smile at her and hand her a form. "You need to fill this up. The auditions are next month and then we'll decide if you get in. Do you sing?"

"Yeah. I am alright." Stacie said nonchalantly as she read the form. One thing about being a former federal agent's daughter and on her way to business school was that you read every document thoroughly before you take any action.

"How about your friend?" Chloe asked, hoping that the short brunette was at least good enough to be a substitute, although, still not entirely sure why she wanted her in the group so desperately.

"You mean Beca?" Stacie asked, not taking her eyes from the page until the next question made her head snap up.

"Beca? Beca... Mitchell?" It was Aubrey who spoke, looking at Stacie with an odd mixture of realization, hope and panic on her face.

"Yeah..." Stacie asked skeptically, her expression quite similar to the redhead who turned to her friend as well. "How do you know her?" The brunette now asked with an intimidating tone (courtesy of her father), feeling protective over her friend in front of these strangers.

"I... Uh, I-I..." Aubrey was lost for words, bile rising up in her throat as her stomach did a familiar grumble and her head seem to be exploding. "I gotta go."

The blonde didn't wait for another second before dropping her writing pad on the desk and making a beeline for the nearest restroom. Leaving behind a baffled redhead and a beyond confused brunette, who awkwardly smiled at each other for a split second before mumbling their goodbyes and rushing to look for their respective best friends.

Aubrey couldn't believe it. She had dreaded this day for the past 10 years. She had waited for it for 12 years. Yet she never imagined it to go like this. And it was no doubt her fault. She should've asked her name first.

No, she should've recognized her without it. She should've known it was her. Should've known it was Beca. Her baby sister.

What had she done?

She yelled at her baby sister.

She called her baby sister a bitch.

She called her an Alt-girl.

An alt-girl with a grasshopper tattoo.

How can she not know it was Beca? The grasshopper, it was her baby Bug.

She ruined everything!

With that thought, she locked herself in the cubicle and immediately emptied the contents of her stomach in the bowl.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

Beca had heard the story a thousand times by the time she was seven. The story that her parents told their two little angels almost every night before tucking them in bed, back when they were a family. It was the story she knew by heart, of the first she had met Aubrey.

 _ **Warren and Diane Mitchell came home from the hospital after the official two day rest, bearing a beautiful baby girl; wrapped up in a bundle of blankets to protect her fragile body from the cold.**_

 _ **They were immediately greeted by another little angel running past her grandmother and into her father's arms. The happy family made their way to the living room where they settled down on a couch before the 3 years old Aubrey Mitchell jumped from her father's lap to take a peek at the bundle in her mother's arms.**_

 _ **"Aubrey, this is your new baby sister. Her name is Rebecca" Diane spoke in a gentle voice, careful of the sleeping baby.**_

 _ **With the curiosity of a typical toddler, young Aubrey poked the baby's cheek with her finger, quite hard. Startled awake, it began to cry and Aubrey ran into her father's arms again, scared that she had broken it.**_

 _ **"It's okay, kiddo." Warren calmed his little daughter, looking into her watery green eyes with his own. "Rebecca is okay. You didn't mean to make her cry. How about you say sorry?"**_

 _ **Aubrey nodded with a small smile, her blonde curls bouncing in process. She rushed to her baby sister's side, who had just stopped crying. With her small fingers, Aubrey gently wiped the remaining tears. "I am sowwy, baby. I promish to never make you cry. I am your big sishter. You are my baby... r-r-buh-b." The three adults in the room chuckled at the little girl's attempt to pronounce.**_

 _ **"Bug!" She announced after a while, deciding to mold the whole name if she couldn't say it. "You be my Bug, okay?"**_

 _ **In answer, the said 'Bug' wrapped her tiny fingers around her sister's thumb, instantly falling back to sleep.**_

Beca let out a shaky breath as she felt silent tears roll down her face. She pulled up her knees to her chest as she made a cocoon of herself on the center of the bed. She knew Aubrey would be here when her father had first told her about college. She was sure it was one of the only reasons why she was brought to Barden. She knew she was to stumble across her sister someday anyways. And so she had spent hours preparing for the imminent encounter. but it still came a blow to face.

The irresistible urge to leap forward and wrap her arms around her big sister after so many years was rivalling the urge to punch her in the face for leaving in the first place. And even though the former was unquestionably stronger, Beca couldn't help but give into her anger when she realized that the blonde didn't even recognise her. How can she not remember her own sister? Her baby Bug? How could she be the sole reason behind it, when she'd promised to never make her cry?

A gentle rapping on the door instinctively made Beca wipe her face and sit up straight hastily before Stacie walked in the dark room. The taller brunette's barely visible silhouette walked up to the bedside table and turn on a small lamp. Beca shut her eyes at the sudden light, opening them slowly after a while to take in the sight of her concerned friend standing awkwardly by her own bed, holding in her hands the common solution to most of the world's problems; pizza. Too tired to be annoyed, the shorter brunette let out a sigh, trying to force a smile on her face that didn't look like a grimace.

Stacie silently observed the scene before her. Never had she seen her friend look so worn out before, almost vulnerable. And it was saying something coming from the girl who watched the DJ deal with everything in her life with nothing more than a blank stare, her music and an occasional punching bag; from grade school pressure, to highschool stress and all through the typical teenage drama years. Heck, the DJ didn't shed a single tear at her own mother's funeral, at least not until the last of the sympathizers left and Stacie could hear the muffled sobs from her room.

But she'd never witnessed it first hand, until now. The steely blue eyes were fogged with unshed tears and their futile attempt to smile made the taller girl's heart break. Warily, she inched forward until she was only a few feet away from the tiny girl who looked even smaller with her legs tucked under her and her eyes cast down.

"They say pizza has a way to solve almost all the problems with a single spicy slice," Stacie spoke in gentle voice as she lowered the box on the bed and cautiously sat down next to it.

"Yeah, ' _almost_ ' all." Beca scoffed with a bitter chuckle in tow that Stacie decided to see as a tiny improvement.

"Well, if pizza doesn't work, we can always get ice cream. To eat or to throw at random people from the roof, your choice?" Stacie suggested with a hopeful smile, opening the box and handing out a slice in a napkin for Beca.

The shorter one let out a more genuine but still shaky laugh, indicating that they were on the right track. However, she didn't take a bite and picked on the veggies for a while as Stacie waited silently for her to speak. A sudden desire to face palm herself for her stupidity grew inside the tall brunette when she made out the eventual low whisper.

"It was her, Stace. It was my Bee."

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

Chloe came home to the on-campus apartment she shared with Aubrey, looking for the blonde, to find this: The said women was curled up on the small sofa, in a darkened living room, sobbing quite loudly.

The redhead instantly soften at the sight (or the lack of it). She wasn't too happy when Aubrey left their unattended but she managed to find a junior to hand out flyers for them as she followed the blonde to the girl's restrooms. She was even more angry when the blonde yelled at her from the cubicle when she was just trying to help. But right now, the vulnerable form of her best friend was enough to make her forget about her grudge. And she couldn't say that didn't know the reason behind it.

Contrary to the common belief, Chloe and Aubrey weren't at each other's throats every moment of the day. (If that were the case, they'd would been dead a million times in the past 11 years). They were real friends, the ones who fight over tiny issues but still share every detail of their lives with each other. So, Chloe wasn't surprised when Beca Mitchell turned out to be Aubrey's baby sister. Although, the reactions she saw on both supposed siblings at this sudden encounter, left the redhead quite confused. This wasn't how her siblings would react if they met after so long. Which led to the conclusion that maybe she really didn't know her best friend that well.

"Brey? Are you okay?" Chloe said as she silently made her way to her best friend and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. The blonde, in turn, was startled at the sudden touch but as soon as she caught a glimpse of her best friend's sad smile in the dark, she jumped up to wrap her in a tight hug.

This was what she wanted to do with Beca. Hold her in her arms just like she did when her little Bug was but a baby. She wanted to make things right with her baby sister. She wanted a second chance to keep her promise. To let Beca know that she was sorry and she wanted nothing more than for her baby sister to wrap her small fingers around her hand like she did all those years ago.

 _ **A four years old Aubrey Mitchell jumped in the back seat of the car and waited for her parents to buckle her up. When done, she decided to chatter all the home about the new friends she made at pre-school as her parents listened intently while her baby sister played with the seat buckle, next to her.**_

 _ **This was one of their unofficial family traditions. Everyday, Warren and Diane took a break from their respective jobs at exactly 2:30pm to pick up their daughters from Daycare and School before getting something to eat and driving them to their grandmother's house for the evening.**_

 _ **Today's topic of preschool chronicles was how the mean boy named Tommy was picking on Aubrey's friend. Aubrey told the teacher about him and in return got a star on her drawing for being a good girl.**_

 _ **"... and Miss Murphy said that I could be the class monitor and tell her if somebody is being bad. A-and she called me 'Brey'. But my name is Aubrey. So she said that it was a nickname for me. But I never got to ask her what it was? What's a nickname, daddy?"**_

 _ **Warren laughed as the full-speed chatting came to a stop and Aubrey took a breath, waiting for her father to speak. "Well, kiddo. A nickname is something you call someone you love. Like you call Rebecca 'Bug' and we call her just 'Beca'."**_

 _ **Satisfied with the answer, Aubrey nodded feverishly, turning to lean towards her sister. As if sensing her presence, Beca let go of her belt buckle and reached out for Aubrey.**_

 _ **"Hear that, Bug. I love you. Do you love me? Can you say 'Brey'?"**_

 _ **Beca instantly smiled at her sister, as if understanding exactly what she said. However, she hadn't spoken her first word yet so after trying for a while to help her speak, Aubrey turned look out the window with a pout, one hand still in Beca's tight grip.**_

 _ **For the rest of the day, Aubrey didn't speak to her sister. Her four-year-old mind stuck on the idea that her sister didn't love her. Of course, it worried the adults of the house since Aubrey always wanted to play with Beca, but they let it be, hoping the grudge will be long forgotten by tomorrow.**_

 _ **It was the first time since Beca was born that Aubrey didn't give her a goodnight kiss before bed. Though as usual, when Beca woke up crying in the middle of the night, Aubrey tip-toed into her room and watched as her mother sang a lullaby to calm her down. When her mother put her baby sister back in the cot, Aubrey couldn't help but paddle over to the edge, hoping that she didn't make her cry.**_

 _ **The watery blue found the sleepy green ones as Beca grabbed hold of her sister's thumb again, "I am sorry I didn't play with you today, Bug. I didn't mean to make you cry. I love you. I was sad when you didn't call me 'Brey'."**_

 _ **Diane Mitchell watched this exchange with a small smile as she placed her hand on her older daughter's shoulder to take her back to her room. Aubrey couldn't reach in the cot so she settled for kiss her own palm and pressing it on Beca's forehead. Sensing that her sister was going to leave her, baby Beca tried to stop her with a vigorous shake of her head but knowing that it wasn't enough, she spoke up. She let out a cry of her first word in gibberish, "Bee".**_

 _ **The brightest smile made it's way to Aubrey face as she squealed in delight. Safe to say, for at least the next few days, Aubrey refused to sleep anywhere other than her sister's cot. Letting the Bug fall asleep with her little fingers wrapped around her Bee's thumb, making sure she won't leave.**_

Aubrey let another choked sob in her best friend's shoulder knowing that it won't ever be the same again. Not after what she had done. Not when she had broken her all her promises to her Bug.

She had hurt her.

She had made her cry.

She had left her.

She had destroyed both Bee and Bug, and she had no idea how to fix it.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

 **A/N: okay, it got too angsty but don't worry. Since, I am following the movie pattern, up next is the Radio Station and the shower scene so, we'll go a spiral of feelings.**

 **Another thing, I only wanted Luke and Jesse to be paired up with someone so they won't be third wheeling like in every other story. How about we give them a subplot with Jessica and Ashley? Let me know what you think.**


	3. Cross Your Heart And Stay Away From Me

**A/N: Greetings, loyal fangirls and boys. So, yesterday, I re read my own chapters for once and noticed at least a gazillion grammar and structural mistakes that I didn't fix. Tbh, it's not my fault that my laptop is not working because my brother forgot to bring the charger when we moved halfway across the country. Now until I get a new charger, I am forced to write on a notepad in my mobile. I promise to fix the mistakes as much as I can here. Stick with me?**

 **Disclaimer** **: I made a Dragontales reference in the last one, but it doesn't work without a magic dragon scale. So, nope, not mine.**

 **Chapter Three: Cross Your Heart And Stay Away From Me**

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

Stacie was worried for her friend. It wasn't like Beca to miss class. Even if her badass front suggested otherwise, she was a great student and skipping class was definitely not her forte. At first, Stacie thought it was just another way to piss her father off since the DJ did her assignments at home anyways, but then she noticed that Beca was only skipping classes that were held in certain halls; or more specifically the ones that had the potential of any sort of encounter with a certain blonde headed monster.

Although, even after 11 years, Stacie knew only bits and pieces about her best friend's illusive older sister, she knew enough to expect a more 'warm' reunion between them. And the fact that it was colder than an iceberg, made her think that it wasn't just about the fact that they were separated by their parents' divorce. It was something else that had caused them to drift so far apart because the Bee and Bug she had spent the last 11 years hearing about were polar opposite to one Aubrey and Beca Mitchell.

So, Stacie decided to wait for her best friend to open up on her own terms, no matter how impatient the taller brunette grew. By the way, the answer to which was, 'extremely impatient', and it wasn't just the fact that it had been 2 weeks since the DJ's encounter with her sister and she had yet to talk about it. It was more about the way that the small brunette decided to lock herself in their dorm for hours at a time, with her books and music; refusing to talk, get out or even eat.

The only thing keeping the taller girl from screaming out in frustration was knowing that the DJ wasn't closing up completely like she's used to. In fact, she would even willingly join her friend when they sang along the crappy songs on the radio while doing homework, ever so often commenting on better Beca's mix would be instead. It was one of the few things that the pair had been doing since they were young and Stacie was glad that it hadn't changed.

Beca, in turn, was carrying a numbness in her chest ever since that day. She had tried her best to avoid anything that would lead to talking about that encounter, as well as to having repeat it. She tried to carry on with her life, hoping to forget the existing turmoil of emotions within her; at least until the end of the year when the sole reason behind this would graduate and hopefully move to another corner of the continent. If her first reaction towards Beca was anything to go by, she had probably already booked the plane ticket.

Of course, the DJ didn't expect her sister to just wrap her arms around her, crying and apologising, after 12 years of separation. But she would be lying if she said that it wasn't what she had been wanting to do all along, and had to restrain herself from doing so if she ever saw her again. Aubrey didn't want her, so she would have to pretend that she didn't care either. She would hold herself strong for the next year, go through college with her best friend, start interning at the radio station, make a small name for herself before she goes off the LA's big league.

Grabbing all that fake confidence, Beca finally left her dorm after almost a week, walking towards the campus radio station, just in time for her first shift. She walked in to see a blonde guy exiting the radio booth.

"Have you been standing there long?" He asked, startling her slightly before walking in again. Beca tried to follow him but immediately jumped back when he came out again with a crate of records in hand. "Freshmen aren't allowed in the booth. You must be Becky, the intern?"

Flustered was how she felt, watching him speak in his perfect British accent, without getting a word in. She made an attempt to correct him but got cut off yet again as a brunette guy made his way in with a backpack slung over his shoulder amd an overly chill attitude. "Hey man, I am Jesse," he introduced himself, extending a hand towards the blonde guy, who ignored it, making Beca hide a snort.

"I am Luke, and you are late," the British said as he walked past them and Beca followed. Her annoyance only increased when Jesse followed her, insisting that he knew her no matter how she much she denied it. Luke looked at them indifferently, telling them to start stacking the CDs before going back to the booth.

Was there a warning about 'no sex on the table'? Yeah, right! Beca thought as she tuned out the guy who chattered on about scoring movies and his love for stacking CDs.

 _Great!_ She has an oblivious father, a sister who hates her, a radio job without any booth time and now a co-worker who tried to serenade her with the theme song of 'Supernatural'. _This year was going to be epic!_

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

Aubrey Posen had taken up a rather unhealthy routine in the past 2 weeks. For a commonly known control freak, she was definitely losing control of her own life. It wasn't like she skipped classes or starved herself most of the time; that was more of Beca's coping mechanism. The blonde, instead, took up the unhealthy stress-eating part and filled herself with mountains of donuts and cupcakes and what not, whenever her thoughts wandered to her baby sister.

And it was quite often, because even though she didn't say it out loud, the baby sister was a large part of her existence. Not a day went by, when Aubrey didn't think of what could have been if she had stayed with her sister. If she hadn't gone with her father, or stayed a little longer at her mother's funeral or followed Beca to her dorm at the activities fair. Or even put up the guts to talk to her and not run away every time she saw the tiny brunette in the hallways or the quad. But instead, she would become a coward and hide herself in her room with the biggest bag of the unhealthiest food she could find.

Chloe, being the sole witness to this heartbreaking scene, had tried her best to help. It's not like Aubrey didn't do an extra hour and a half of cardio after every episode stress-eating she had, but that would only make her throw up and lose any sort of nutrients from those heavy food items. So, Chloe made her mission to make the blonde eat a much healthier meal, early in the day that would at least keep her from going sick because of mal nutrition. However, the redhead couldn't do anything to help with the dark seams that had resided under the blonde's now dull and hollowed green eyes. When allowed, she could only cuddle up to her best friend at night to help her sleep, but the usually smaller spoon had no heart to tell the redhead that it wasn't same without a certain brunette.

So, the seniors went on with their own lives, focusing on the safer things; such as school, assignments and the Bellas upcoming auditions. Though, the last one wouldn't be as safe as they hoped if couldn't get enough recruits for this year; or if the tall brunette from the activities fair showed up dragging her friend along again, but it's better not to say that out loud.

And if this wasn't enough a mess, Aubrey would have to go home every friday for a mandatory family dinner with Warren Mitchell and Sheila whatever-her-last-name-was. Luckily, for the past 2 weeks Chloe had no classes on Friday (or so she let the blonde think) and decided to tag along since Sheila had personally told the redhead that she'd be welcomed anytime. Chloe had been a perfect dinner guest and best friend as she did her best to keep the conversation away from Aubrey, to much lighter topics and kept a smile on no matter how hard the blonde squeezed her fingers under the table whenever Warren decided to lead the talk.

Aubrey had no idea how to thank her best friend for being... well, the BEST friend. So, on Monday morning, she decided finally get her head out of her ass and do something special in return. She decided to surprise the redhead with a box of cupcakes from their favourite bakery downtown. (Apparently, it would take more than a weekend to give up her eating habits).

She walked arcoss the campus, where the redhead's last class of the evening was held. Wanting to get there before the students piled out, Aubrey made a short cut through the quad, realizing her mistake a little too late as she came face to face with a trio of brunettes. "Beca!" She breathed out after a stretched out awkward silence, not even glancing at the guy brunette and the girl from the fair, who silently watched the pair.

The younger girl looked equally surprised to see her sister but as soon as she saw the box of cupcakes in her hands and the disappearing smile on her face, Beca masked herself with a well practised blank stare. "Nice to see you too, _Aubrey_." She spoke with ice in her tone.

The blonde held back a choke at the emphasis on her full name before she nodded her acknowledgement. "These your friends?" Aubrey asked with a tight voice that she tried hard to amend with a smile that didn't rival a grimace.

"Yes, I have friends," Beca said an accusing tone, as if proving that she was capable of having friends too. It was a tone that she'd reserved only for her father, who never seemed to think that she was capable of anything, but right now, the DJ couldn't see any difference between him and the blonde. "Stacie is my BEST friend. And Jesse works with me at the radio station."

"That's nice." Aubrey commented., giving a nod to the awkward pair standing at the side, recieving a semi-cold glare and an timid smile respectively. Under normal circumstances, she would have smiled at the taller girl for being such good friend to her little sister but right now she could only swallow the erising bile in her throat and return her eyes to the steely blue ones. "Look, Bug-"

"No," Beca stated plainly. She knew if Aubrey played the nickname card now, she would be a sobbing mess in matter of seconds. She wouldn't give her the satisfaction of making the badass girl cry. She looked directly in those green eyes, trying hard to keep her resolve as shs continued with a dangerously calm voice,

"No, you look, Aubrey. You don't get to call me that. You don't get to say anything. You had twelve fucking years to do so, but you didn't! You missed your chance. Now, you can go celebrate your victory with cupcakes, just stay away from me."

Without another look, the shorter brunette walked past from her sister, breaking into a sprint as soon as she was out of sight, just in time to miss the shattered look in those green eyes. Aubrey stood stunned as Jesse quickly made his excuse and left the same way he came from, leaving Stacie to witness as the slow tears made their way down the blonde's pretty face.

This was the first time Stacie had a chance to observe her up close and without a doubt, she could say that Aubrey Posen was one of the most beautiful people she had met. Pretty? Yes. With her deep green eyes, pale face and the golden curls that framed them, you'd have to be blind to think she wasn't pretty. But it was something about the spectrum of emotions within those green eyes, the tear streaks on that pale face and gentle movement of the golden curls when she breathed through her mouth that showed that she was more than just a pretty face. She was beautiful.

Stacie didn't think twice as she stepped forward and wrapped her best friend's sister in firm embrace. Aubrey was shocked but she didn't resist as she wrapped her arms around the brunette as well, letting the box of cupcakes fall from her hands; she didn't need them anymore.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

Chloe almost ran out of class as soon as the lecture ended. She couldn't understand why did she have to pay attention in this class when she could already speak fluent Russian in three different accents. Also, the professor had spend the last two hours only talking about the types of villians in the early decades of Russian Literature. She was just glad she didn't have be one of those villians who killed their professor in the middle of an extremely boring lecture.

Despite her intial race against time, Chloe took her time walking back to the apartment, thinking about recent events, Bellas, Aubrey, how it was their final year at Barden. Also, not thinking about the pint-sized brunette who crossed her mind more often than she should admit, so denial it is. She did not think about all the things that Brey had told her about her little sister. Nor did she think about how much that little sister had grown now, how beautiful she had become, how her little quirks were stuck on replay in her mind and how she was walking right this way.

"Oomph!" "Ow!" The redhead thought a little too late as she realized that she was now on the floor. Wait, no. She was on Beca!

Chloe scrambled to her feet and glanced around to make sure they hadn't made a scene before she looked back to the girl on the floor. She immediately panicked as she noticed the tears on Beca's face, thinking she had hurt the girl. She helped her up and continued asking her if she was hurt, stopping when she realized how dumb a question it was and the fact that Beca wasn't looking at her.

Without knowing what she was doing, the redhead wrapped an arm around her waist and led her back to her dorm. Chloe found herself smiling a little when the otherwise unresponsive girl wrapped her arms around her arms around the taller girls neck and buried her face in her shoulder, making the girl half carry her along the way. She got the key from the pocket of Beca's hoodie and silently led her to the closest bed, without having to turn on the light.

Beca felt too tired to protest when she felt her jacket and jeans being pulled off her shoulders and legs, leaving her in a t-shirt that was hopefully big enough to hide her short shorts. She was already half asleep when the (yet unnamed) redheaded angel tucked her in bed, and turned to leave, only to have her hand firmly gripped by Beca who told her in a sleepy mumble to, "stay".

Chloe gladly obliged, slipping behind the small brunette and smiling widely when she felt her guide her arms around her own little frame, turning around a little to bury head head in the crook of the taller girl's neck. In a few minutes, both girls drifted off to sleep with the long forgotten smiles of contentment on their faces.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

 **A/N: I thought of this chapter at the last moment in the spur of ideas since I didn't know how to fill up the month between the activities fair and auditions. The auditions are a week later and the shower scene is the next if you are confused.**

 **Thank you to all those who like my story and reviewed. I am sorry if I am too sleepy to name everyone of you so, here are couple of answers to your reviews**

 **RocketAlana: I have the same issue but I wanted 'Bee' to be a nickname that only Beca used. So if I wrote 'bree', Beca's nickname would've looked like a typo. ;-P**

 **Guest (6/30 9.10pm) of course, this story is BeChloe. Everybody loves them, have you been living under a rock? :-/ ;-P**


	4. Cross Your Heart And Comfort Me

**A/N: what up, aca-people? Another day, another chapter. It's a day late but... I swear I never updated so fast in my life. Thank you for all your support and amazing reviews! I know many want to know what happen 12 years ago. But we have to wait for a 'civil' conversation between the sisters to find out. Stick with me?**

 **'until its gone' : I had the exact feels times 10 when I wrote that part. My heart hurt to picture the scene in my head but I had to get it out before I exploded. :(**

 **Disclaimer** **: who even reads this? No one mentioned my last reference in the disclaimer. :( I don't own anything :-/**

 **Chapter Four: Cross Your Heart And Comfort Me**

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

It was almost midnight when Stacie managed to get Aubrey back to her place. They'd spent the last couple of hours at a local diner, where they sat in a corner booth, talking about the smallest of things or sitting in a comfortable silence until the blonde had recovered enough from the evening's encounter. Stacie found her to be quite fun and interesting, with a light sense of humour, quite similar to Beca's but less snarky.

Aubrey, on the other hand, decided to use this extremely rare occasion to put on her older sister instincts to use and get to know the person who claimed to be her baby Bug's best friend. Also, she wanted the opportunity to add to the never ending list of things she missed out on in her sister's life. Disappointed slightly when Stacie refused to give more than the basic review of the last 11 years that she'd been friends with Beca, Aubrey realized that she needed to face her sister for more than that. She almost couldn't hold back the tears that stung her eyes, knowing that it wasn't a good possibility.

Sensing the blonde's distress, Stacie quickly changed the discussion to the one thing that cheered up Beca in times like these. The sparkle of excitement was quite visible in those green eyes as the girls spend the rest of the night talking about all things music. Well, Aubrey talked; Stacie just spent the time watching her, liking this carefree, unguarded side of her. This definitely wasn't the uptight Aubrey Posen who called her sister a bitch on their first meeting after twelve years. This was Bee, the protective older sister that Beca told her about, the one Stacie had began to love over the years and the past few hours.

 _Wait, LOVE?!_

Reality struck her like lightening and she almost choked on the hot coffee she'd been sipping, making Aubrey stop her stories about the Bellas to look at her with concern. Stacie shivered under the intense gaze, deciding to cover up her awkwardness by saying something about it getting late and chilly and that she should get home to Beca. She frowned a little, realizing that she hadn't thought of checking up on her best friend all night.

Aubrey must have realized the same thing as she looked at her with a mix expression between 'how-could-i-forget-about-that' concern and 'aren't-you-supposed-to-be-her-best-friend' incredulity. Although, even she couldn't deny when the tall brunette offered to walk her home before she went back to her dorm.

Thus, the pair had ended up at the blonde's door, close to midnight, waiting for the other to say the first goodbye. Although, the silence in which they stood outside in the cool September air wasn't nearly as awkward as it should've been. In fact, they were weirdly comfortable just staring at each with the smallest of smiles in place. However, their bubble burst as soon as the loud beep of the blonde's phone startled them to reality.

Aubrey frowned at her phone; more specifically, at the message she just received from Chloe.

"I should go, check up on Becs," Stacie spoke after a moment of watching the blonde rapidly type on her phone, mainly wanting to leave before things got more weird.

"No need. Chloe's with her." Aubrey said with a slight confusion and anger in her voice, still typing on her phone. "Apparently, she met her at the quad after our... argument? Chloe took her to her dorm and now she is cuddled up with MY baby sister."

"Wait, what?" Stacie voiced her confusion, moving quite close to the senior to check out the phone for herself. Not aware of this closure yet, the other just stopped writing her furious replies to her best friend and scrolled the screen to the only text by the redhead in all that time.

 ** _Hey, Brey. Can't come home tonite. Met ur sister quad after class. Smthing happen? She cried to sleep, hugging me. Got to go b4 I wake her up. xoxo_**

"Do they even know each other?" Stacie said, raising a brow in question, although Aubrey was too busy typing threat messages again, to see.

"Well, Chlo's been my best friend since 5th grade so, of course I told her about my sister. She only met her at the fair, though." She replied with another confused frown. "But you'll be surprised to know how many people she ended in bed with, with far less introductions."

"She didn't look like a slut though. What surprises me is that it's Becs. Beca Mitchell doesn't do cuddles!" The brunette exclaimed, sharing a well known fact about the badass DJ.

"No, Chloe isn't a slut. She just can't understand personal boundaries. I think, I should've told her to STAY AWAY FROM MY BABY SISTER." Aubrey sighed as she realized that the redhead wasn't going to reply anytime soon. Recalling the last part of Stacie's last comment, Aubrey turned towards her with furrowed eyebrows, "What are you talking about? Beca used to be a cuddle monster when-"

Both girls stopped any movement as soon as they realized the distance (or the lack of) between them. For the longest moments, none of them spoke, or made any moves to break the weirdly recurring little bubble that surrounded them for the night.

"Do you..." Aubrey asked hesitantly in a low voice. "Maybe wanna... c-come inside?"

"Yeah..." Stacie answered in the same whisper, breaking their bubble with a smile matching the blonde's as they finally opened the door to enter the house together.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

Chloe furrowed her brows as she scrolled down the long list of threats she'd received from her best friend in the past ten minutes. However, a smile out did that frown as soon as the redhead felt the cause of those threats, nuzzle their face deeper in the side of her neck, tightening the grip on her abdomen unconsciously.

She looked down at the tiny brunette hugging her like a baby koala and almost laughed at the silly comparison. Koalas were no match for the cuteness of this amazing creature curled up beside her. She slowly turned her head to catch a glimpse of the brunette's face in the small glow provided by her cellphone and smiled when she took in her beauty. Beca scrunched her face as the light hit her and turned almost on top her cuddle pillow to block it out.

Chloe closed her screen in a silent reply and put her phone away before holding the brunette against her and drifting off to sleep again.

Her last thought of the night was how beautiful this girl was and how she was worth a million threats to the anyone who wanted to hurt her. In her last moment of consciousness, Chloe swore to herself that she never would.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

Stacie smiled subconsciously as she surfed through the small collection of CDs on Aubrey's side of the living room shelf. Many of them were similar to Beca's but different in ways that defined both sisters. While the DJ listened to all genres and looked for songs that she could blend together, her older sister had music that was perfect without any blend but limited to a few genres such as light rock, alt-rock, R&B and classical pop-rock.

As she waited for Aubrey to freshen up, the tall brunette started going through the book collection underneath the CDs. Beca loved reading too, but didn't own more than a dozen of them since she spent all her money on music every time, half of those books were Harry Potter anyways. So, Stacie was the one with the book shelves that Beca borrowed from (and vice versa was with the CDs). She realized that the older Mitchell had a similar arrangement with her best friend, both having equal collections for music, books and movies but never having two copies of the same thing.

"Hey, you wanna have a cup of coffee?" Stacie turned to see the senior making her way to the small kitchen that attached to the living room. She had changed into a much homey attire of a grass green BU hoodie over a purple tank top and a pair of shorts that went to her mid thigh, leaving her long legs bare. The brunette snapped her head up before the blonde turned to face her. Even with her hair in a messy ponytail and her make up removed, she looked damn gorgeous. _Wait, this again?_

"Yeah, that sounds good." She spoke up with a mechanical nod before she it could get any more awkward on her part. She turned to the shelf again, hoping that the blonde would buy it, relieved when she did. "Hey, Aubrey? How come you only have the first part of Harry Potter in your collection? Both movie and book."

Aubrey shrugged, not looking up from her work, "It's my favourite part. I've had the book with me since I moved to Barden. The movie was the first one I bought in the stack, as soon as it was released. You can choose a movie to watch if you want."

Stacie took the obvious hint to change the subject and picked up a cheesy chick flick from the pile instead. She set it up in the already opened laptop and sat crossed legged on the couch. Aubrey came back with two steaming mugs, handing one to her and taking seat on the opposite end, the laptop placed on the coffee table in front of them.

"A cinderella story? I bet Chloe put it on my side," the blonde tried to lie as soon as the opening credits came on.

"I think you lost that bet, you secret closet romantic." Stacie replied with a smirk, knowing the expression on the blonde's face to be the same one as Beca's when she gets caught listening to Taylor Swift from time to time. She took a sip from her mug and realized that it was hot chocolate instead.

"Oh, it's something I like to drink during these movies. Since you are going to tease me about it anyways, I might as well enjoy it." Aubrey explained, turning her attention to the small screen, unaware of the small smile that the brunette had as she learned another quirk about her. This girl was getting more and more amazing by the minute.

Half way through the movie, the pair weren't even looking at the screen. They'd started talking about random things, not even ten minutes into the movie. Aubrey learned more about her sister's best friend and how perfect she was... for her sister, that is. And Stacie got to know the real Bee in that time. They finally shut the laptop, sitting side by side on the couch with their legs propped up on the table, in a comfortable silence only disturbed by the occasional sipping of the last remains of their drinks.

"Beca and I used to read first Harry Potter together as kids." Aubrey spoke up after a while, clenching her mug tightly. "Well, I would read and she would just sit there listening intently, every once in a while making me do imitations of the characters with funny accents."

Stacie smiled subconsciously when the blonde let out a shaky laugh at the memory, looking at the floor as if she could see their younger selves. She didn't know what to do other than grab both their mugs, setting them on the table before taking the older girls hands in hers. She must have done something right because the blonde returned the smile as much as she could with the tears building up in her eyes before speaking again.

"I had the most horrible British accent at the time, but Beca didn't care. She probably heard the story a dozen times but would be so engrossed in it every single time that you could see the emotions on her face. I swear, she cried the first time I told her that Harry's parents were only in his reflection in the mirror of erised." She chuckled again, this time joined by the tall brunette. "We only had only one copy at the time, so when I moved to Barden, I took it with me as a souvenir, I guess? That's also why I bought the movie too. I mean, Chloe is a huge potterhead so of course she had the rest of the series and made me read and watch it all the time. But the first one was always special to me."

Stacie squeezed her hand in assurance, "If it helps, Beca doesn't have it in her collection. She doesn't have the first book, and she has reread all the others at least a dozen times now, but never the first."

Aubrey was surprised at this confession but couldn't help the wide smile that came on next. After all these years, her baby Bug could still surprise her with new ways of expressing her love. She gave Stacie a bone crushing hug before they decided to finish their movie any ways, ultimately falling asleep, cuddled up on the couch, by the time the ending credits rolled up.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

"Beca... wake up..."

"Too early... Too comfy..."

"Rebecca Mitchell! Get up and out of MY bed, before I toss all your music stuff out the window!"

The tiny brunette had never jumped out of bed so fast in her life as she did now, scared to test the threat she got. However, she didn't realize her position until she rolled out bed grabbing the hold of her cuddle pillow before ultimately dragging it down on floor with her.

"Oomph!" "Ow!" Chloe snapped open her eyes as soon as she made contact with the floor. Again, not exactly the floor, but Beca.

"Hi!" She breathed as her baby blue eyes looked straight into her navy blues.

"Hey, there!" Beca replied with a small smile, forgetting all in her surrounding except the perky mass of baby blue and fiery red pressed up against her. "You know, this is the second time you've tackled me in less than 12 hours, yet I don't even know your name."

"Oh, really?" Chloe asked with a raised eyebrow, matching her teasing companion. "Well, you didn't have to sleep with me just to ask my name. Although, I did appreciate all the free hugs. I am Chloe, by the way."

Beca blushed deep red at the teasing but smiled nonetheless. However, this unusual sight of reddening cheeks was too much for the third person in the room who cleared their throat to make their presence known.

It did the trick as the pair broke apart to stand up at the speed of lightning, glaring at Stacie. Well, it was more like, Beca glared while Stacie smiled innocently and Chloe silently watched their amusing exchange. It wasn't long before the shorter brunette broke the eye contact with one final sharp look and announced, "I am going to take a shower."

"Oh! Me too!" Chloe said, not quite regretting her tongue slip when the shorter brunette immediately reddened, despite the wolf whistling from Stacie. "I meant separately. I can't be seen in public looking like this."

Beca couldn't help but stare at her appearance as she gestured to herself. A voice in the back of her head almost made her admit that the redhead was the most gorgeous person she knew, all 24 hours a day. But the rest of her brain told that voice to shut up as she averted her eyes to grab her own stuff, "Stacie give her some clothes. Mine won't fit."

 **xo**

"Don't do anything, I wouldn't!"

The pair walked to the showers in an awkward silence (mostly on Beca's part) courtesy of the farewell comment that Stacie decided to give them. Once inside, Beca made her way to the furthest cubicle she could find, closing herself in and sighing in relief when she heard the redhead take one a few stalls away. Luckily, most classes had already started so there weren't any students in the bathroom as far as the brunette was concerned.

She started up the hot water, slowly singing a song that she'd been repeating in her head since the yesterday's fiasco. Some how it calmed her nerves and comforted her.

"...I am bullet proof, nothing to lose. Fire away, fire away." Just as she was about to step under the water, her shower curtain was ripped open, revealing a very perky, very bare redhead.

"You can sing!" Chloe exclaimed, making Beca whip around and immediately snap the curtain close, only for it to be opened again as the redhead stepped further inside.

"Dude!" Beca shouted, trying her best to cover herself with her arms, her death glare ignored as Chloe turned off the water, getting even close to her. "What the hell?! Get out!"

"Not until you sing Titanium for me." She insisted, not even a little bit concerned about her nakedness that Beca tried hard not to look at.

"You know David Guetta?" She asked with a little surprise, mostly to distract herself from the view.

"Of course! It's my jam." Chloe said proudly before leaning closer and whispering, "my lady jam."

"Gross." Beca mumbled as she pressed herself further against the marble wall to get as far as possibly could.

"Can you sing it for me?" It sounded more like a demand than a request which made Beca raise her brow in incredulity. "I am not leaving until you sing, so..."

Beca look away, hoping that the girl was joking and would leave soon. But when she didn't, the DJ sighed in defeat and started the chorus to the song, mostly to get the other girl away from her. When Chloe joined her halfway, she was surprised at how well their voices blend together. However, as the singing came to an end, Beca slipped her a smile before awkwardly waiting for her to leave, mumbling something about the shower.

Chloe's smile didn't falter a bit as she nodded her head in acceptance, practically ordered the brunette to come to the Bellas auditions next week before walking out the stall. The baffled brunette could just stare at spot she stood and tried to think what in the hell happened? Although, one thing was sure:

Titanium will NEVER comfort her the same way again.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**


	5. Cross Your Heart And Miss Me

**A/N: Okay! Another Chapter. Writer's block. Turns out, I got nothing to say. Also, I wrote this chapter before but it got deleted so I was pretty sad for a while to continue... Stick with me?**

 **Disclaimer** **: Nothing. I only own the plot line.**

 **Chapter Five: Cross Your Heart And Miss Me**

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

Cool autumn breeze was well appreciated by the time the first week of October rolled around. The students were already way deep in assignments and extra curriculars despite it being hardly a month since the school started and a little fresh air was doing them wonders. Although, they were almost always accompanied by some work to do, many students still preferred to be out in the quad from time to time.

Well, 'many' with the predictable exception of one Beca Mitchell, who seemed to be on a hiatus in everything except breathing and occasional forced intake of nutrition. For the past week, she had been living in a daze. Her routine consisting of nothing but hours spent with her laptop and headphones, taking a bunch of totally incompatible songs, fully inspired to create something magical.

She barely went to any classes that week, the only times she did get out of her dorm was to get to her shift at radio station. But even those painfully long periods of time (4 hours per day) spent stacking CDs with her goofy co-worker biting her ear off with movie talk, were hardly registered by her. She was like a zombie; an ignorant, numb, alarmingly quite, walking dead.

However, Stacie wasn't as worried as she would've been if the DJ had decided to shut her out again. In fact, she didn't even have to ask twice as Beca blurted out everything that happened following the encounter with her sister, up till the point when a flabbergasted DJ made her way back from the showers, just in time to miss the chirpy redhead on her way out. Stacie hadn't known whether to sympathize at such an unfortunate day or to laugh at the height of colour in her best friend as she recounted the antics of the perky ginger.

In the end, she settled for the latter and after a good 10 minutes of practically rolling on her stomach with laughter, she finally registered the dangerous look in her friend's eyes and quieted down somewhat. For the next week, she watched amusingly as the DJ navigated through her life in a permanently flushed mode, whether mixing music or sketching still life, knowing that the redhead was never too far from her thoughts. Kinda like a certain blonde who invaded her own thoughts.

Ever so often, Stacie shook her head to clear it up and tried to remember that it was her best friend's sister; not just 3 years older than her, but a completely forbidden territory. She never told Beca about meeting her. It was better that way, at least until the shorter brunette clears things up for herself. Or until the seniors graduate and make it easier to the freshmen to forget them completely.

Of course, they realized how hard it was going to be to just ignore fate when a certain envelope showed up at their door at 10am, Friday morning; containing details of the a capella auditions that were only 7 hours away. Apparently, whoever had plans for their weekend, either had to cancel and prove their loyalty to music or be rejected from the nerd singing.

Beca merely snickered at the stupidity of the text that Stacie read out loud, jumping on her bed to fall back asleep as she was before the knocking woke her up. She had stayed up late last night, finishing up a new remix of Titanium. For some reason that had nothing what so ever to do with a certain ginger, she couldn't think of another song to pair it with. She had spend hours attaching it with different bass lines and creating alternative versions of the same songs but nothing had clicked and it frustrated her. So basically, in the last few days all she had created were a bunch of remix versions of Titanium along with several other unfinished projects.

Stacie must have sensed her exhaustion because she closed the blinds on the windows and dimed the lights to help her sleep before she settled on her desk with her Surface, silently finishing her assignments. Beca smiled in appreciation at her friend's antics, although none of them could see it, and went to sleep almost instantly. However, none of them couldn't stop thinking about the auditions, not actually wanting to break the promise they'd made to the Bella leaders. (Maybe a promise made in the awkwardness of the morning or the shower invasion doesn't count?)

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

Stacie returned from her 11 to 1 Biochemistry lecture to find Beca in the same position as she'd left her; fast asleep, curled up with a pillow. The taller blonde checked the clock to see it was 1:25, and decided to give her friend five minutes of peace as she threw her backpack on the chair and took off her coat and shoes. However, before she could even untie the laces on her sneakers, the door to the dorm opened up without a warning and the certainly unwelcome guest waltzed in.

Stacie jumped up at the absurd lack of respect for privacy and was about to shout at the intruder but merely scowled when she saw Warren Mitchell make his way towards Beca's bed, as always, oblivious to the impropriety of his actions. He poked Beca in the ribs, like he used to when she was a child and barely flinched when she startled awake. Like her friend, instead of reaching for her rape whistle, she settled for scowling and glaring at the man who was again, frustratingly calm.

"Funny, this doesn't look like your 'Intro to Philosophy' class." He said with a casual smile that made Beca wanna puke.

"Maybe, the important philosophical question here is that, if no body goes to that class, would it still suck?" Both Mitchells turned to Stacie who had spoken. The taller brunette smiled a full blown sarcastic smirk at the man, who in turn finally showed some emotion and replied with a somewhat disgusted look.

Beca smirked at the exchange, loving her best friend more and more by the minute. She climbed out of bed while Dr. Mitchell tried to school his expression and Stacie continued untying her shoes nonchalantly. Grabbing a fresh change of clothes from the closet, she waited for her father to finish his 'fake caring father weekly check up' so she could get one with her day.

"Look, Beca." He began with a dramatic sigh that made both girls roll their eyes. "College is a one time experience. People make memories here, I see it everyday. You just have to give it a chance. You have been here for a month, and do you have any friends?"

"Stacie is only friend I need." Beca reply defensively, catching the other brunette smile brightly and almost squeal at the praise. But of course, the man didn't even glance at her and continued as if he hadn't heard a thing.

"You gotta try something new." He said nonchalantly, making Beca wanna smack him as she saw Stacie's smile falter in the slightest at the double meaning. "Join one club at campus. And if by the end of the year, you still wanna move to LA, I'll personally pay for you."

This perked up both girls but they kept a blank expression in front of the man who still smiled smugly at them as he turned to leave. On his way, however, he caught the glimpse of the Bellas flyer sticking out from the envelope on the desk and he immediately turned around, surprising the girls by the mixed look of anger and disgust on his face.

"But, Beca," He said in a warning tone. "Don't join an a capella group. Your sister has already disgraced my name by doing so, I'll not have you become a singing hooligan like her."

The man stormed out of the room with that final statement, leaving behind two confused girls who immediately flared up in anger as soon as they were able to register the insult he just threw towards person they both deeply cared about, but denied until now. And even if they missed this chance to beat him to pulp for his words, they were going make sure they didn't miss another. They had to protect the people they cared about.

And if it meant doing synchronised nerd singing, so be it.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

The auditions began with a customary intro speech by the hosts. It was only the second year that Tommy and Justin were hosting, but the sophmores had their special way of pumping up the crowd; a very weird, disturbing and simply gross way, if one might add. But their disturbing detailing of the competition wasn't even in the top ten of the list of things that were making a certain blonde want to grab a barf bag.

So what, if this was her last year at Barden, her only chance to redeem herself from the embarrasment of the last year's finals. It wasn't like she had a buck load of school work to do for her senior year to get Master's degree, and she obiviously didn't have any obligations to her job at the local news channel. Not to mention, she had to get 10 more girls for the competition and had to shape them into perfection to prove to her jerk of a father that he was... well, a jerk. And to top it all, she had to figure out a way to get her sister to at least talk to her, to give her a last chance even if she didn't deserve it. So... no pressure, right?

Aubrey silently made her way to her seat, letting Chloe get the contestant profiles from Justin and joining her just as Tommy finished speaking. She was trying her hardest to control her self when she heard the Treblemakers mock them from behind her. She was just about to get up and launch herself at Bumper Allen and his jerk team but refrained from doing so when Chloe squeezed her wrist in warning and Tommy came back in time with the first contestant.

Aubrey loosened up a little and even snickered mildly when she heard one of the Trebles express his surprise when the contestant turned out to be girl despite her rugged clothing. She was a good singer and could hit high notes, so the Bellas immediately knew that she was going to make it in since they only had to choose 10 from all 14 sign ups.

Several performances later, they had at least 8 potential Bellas on their board when the Bella captains were surprised by a familiar voice on stage. They'd never expected Stacie to actually show up after everything that had happened after their first meeting but here she was, all bright and smiley, giving a formal introduction.

"Hi, my name's Stacie." She said with a overly cheery voice that was completely different from what they knew. "My hobbies include cuticle care, and the E! Network."

Despite her confusion, Chloe gave the girl a bright smile while Aubrey settled for a puzzled expression and a look that said, "I don't know what you are doing, but I don't like it." As if reading the look instantly, Stacie replied with a mischievous smirk and a stuble wink in her direction that made the blonde blush involuntarily. The brunette gave one last smile and started singing; awful was the word that everyone searched for.

Aubrey furrowed her brows in confusion, she knew that Stacie was doing this on purpose for some reason; she knew, because she'd heard her sing along the soundtrack of A Cinderella Story last week and it was nothing if not amazing. So engrossed in her thoughts, that Aubrey failed to notice the brunette looking directly at her when she vulgarly groped herself. But she still blushed, realizing that the performance had ended and she hadn't made a single note on her chart the whole time.

After Stacie, the blonde couldn't concentrate on any of the performances and left it to Chloe to make notes on the rest of the contestants. Soon enough, the last of the contestants left stage, who was, in fact, the awkward brunet that she'd seen with her sister the other day but paid no attention to until now. Aubrey managed to avert her thoughts from Stacie long enough to wonder if Beca actually liked this guy. Well, at least he was decent looking and had a good voice too but definitely not good enough for her baby sister, especially since the Trebles seemed to like him.

A pang of pain and guilt went through her as she realized that it wasn't her place to judge who Beca likes. Even if it was a potential Treblemaker. (Only if she knew that Beca was more interested in someone she knew much closely than any random guy). A shout from the that certain someone snapped Aubrey out of her zone and she realized that the auditorium was almost empty except for them, Tommy, Justin and the person who caused that shout.

"Come up front," Chloe said, waving encouragingly and a tiny brunette took the stage. Aubrey's eyes grew wide in shock and her mouth hung open as she saw the unexpected sight of her baby sister awkwardly walking to the front of the stage. She quickly sobered up when the brunette spoke up for the first time,

"I didn't know we had to prepare that song..." Beca lied after waving back at the redhead rather awkwardly, of course Stacie had given her all details, a good 20 minutes before the auditions but at the time the DJ was more focused on not to bolt out the auditorium. She had felt better slightly when she saw Stacie keep her promise of singing badly on purpose so that both friends would feel equally humiliated after.

She kept in mind to not look at the other Bella in the room for the fear of anything she might see aside from the apparent surprise. However, the blonde only did have a look of simple sadness on her face when she noticed this.

"It's okay, sing anything you want." Chloe smiled at the younger girl while squeezing her best friend's hand in assurance. Both best friends watched, somewhat curiously as the brunette kneeled on the stage and leaned forward to grab the yellow plastic cup on their desk. After another assuring smile from the redhead, she emptied the contents of the cup on the desk and continued to sit crossed legged on the stage with the cup placed upside down in front of her.

The seniors watched in pure awe as the DJ made an amazing beat from the simple plastic cup, combining it with the even more amazing voice of hers as she sang out the lyrics of song she'd been working on for the past month and a half. At first, she only kept her eyes on the cup's movement while the Bella stared only at her. But once she reached the chorus, she couldn't help but look up, directly at the person who inspired it.

"When I am gone, when I am gone, you're gonna miss me when I am gone..." Aubrey tried hard to keep a straight face as the dark message of this upbeat song reached her. She knew that the brunette was trying to narrate her whole life threw those few words and the fact that it was Aubrey's own fault that she missed out on it. Moreover, the bittersweet smile that Beca wore as she looked into her green eyes was enough to make her wanna puke until she felt empty both physically and emotionally.

"You're gonna miss me by hair, you're gonna miss me everywhere, oh you're sure gonna miss me when I am gone..." Beca sang out the last lyric and ended the cup beats at the same time, and after one last bittersweet smile towards the Bellas, she walked off the stage with a blissful empty feeling that she got whenever she let go of her emotions through music.

After that silently intense emotional exchange, both sisters knew they had to have a civil discussion. Unknown to them, a certain brunette and ginger were already plotting up ways for them to do so.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

 **A/N: Again, really sorry for the delay. I'll start working on the next chapter ASAP. I have a better view of the future chapters now. You guys keep reviewing, it really encourages me to be quicker and better at writing.**


	6. Cross Your Heart And Initiate Me

**A/N: OKAY! Here's another chapter for my fellow Aca-people.**

 **Question: is it fair to call ourselves Aca-people even if we are NOT in a capella?**

 **Also, to people you want to give Dada Mitchell a kick, I won't stop you. He has to be total nuts to not appreciate his daughters as they are. Such an Idiot!**

 **Disclaimer: I am a little too broke to own anything.**

 **Chapter Six: Cross Your Heart And Initiate Me**

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

"Come on, Becs. Just tell me. Why did you even audition if you didn't want to see your sister in the first place?" Stacie tried to ask once again but soon enough fell back on her bed and made a face at her own whining, she didn't like it when she sounded desperate. However, she wasn't letting the tiny brunette get away with her blank face this time.

"Will you let it go?!" The DJ snapped at her, trying hard not to sound too harsh and concentrate on the low music coming from the bulky headphones she wore. Normally, she would just turn up the volume and ignore her friend's rising voice until the taller brunette gave up. But this time Stacie had unknowingly asked the question that had been nagging Beca ever since the auditions yesterday; music wasn't distracting her what so ever.

"Fine. Whatever. But remind me again, why did I have to embarras myself when you obviously didn't?" Stacie spoke up after another few minutes of trying (and failing) to focus at reviewing her essay for her European History class.

Beca looked up from her laptop screen to glare at her best friend once again. The taller brunette was still in awe of watching the DJ give a rare look at her talents at the audition but the said girl would brush off any praise with her trademark scowl. "It was humiliating," she said flatly.

"No, it wasn't." Stacie argued, sitting up from her comfortable position on her bed to get a better look at her friend. "You were amazing up there, and you better except it or I'll... call Jesse and tell him that you are ready to have your 'movie-cation'."

Beca had almost smiled at the praise but instantly frowned at the small threat that followed. Jesse had become a good friend of theirs in the past few weeks. Well, more like an acquaintance in Beca's case who rarely spoke a word while he would go on and on about movies and junk and how she was a weirdo for not liking them. He said that she need a movie education, 'movie-cation' in his words, and Stacie had almost spilled her coffee, laughing at Beca's horrified face when he mentioned the idea that time when they bumped into him in the quad. The tiny DJ was however confused as to why her friend would bring it up now.

"That's weak, Conrad." She said with a smirk, "I expected more from you."

Stacie shrugged in response, hiding a smug grin at her next words, "Well, I can invite Chloe over if you want. She is much more... interesting company, don't you think?"

And just like that the scowling DJ became a blushing idiot who couldn't even form a single retort, "W-what... w-who a-are you t-talking about, Conrad?"

"Oh, you know, the redheaded monster who molested you in the showers." Stacie gave a smug smile in return, immensly enjoying the unusual sight of the squirming brunette.

"She didn't 'molest' me." Beca said after a few minutes of gaping at her best friend's comment. Unfortunately, that only buried her deeper into the mess.

"Of course, it's not molesting if you liked it too." Stacie wiggled her brows suggestively at her friend who scowled back with an already reddened face. "You like her, don't you?"

"N-no. Absolutely n-not!" Beca tried (and I mean, really tried) to sound blank but it was hard to do so when Stacie was already in hysterics and her words were involuntarily creating not-so-innocent images in her time, Beca didn't think twice about putting her headphones on and blocking out her best friend's teasing remarks along with her own wandering thoughts (although, not being very successful with the latter).

She didn't know how long she sat there making rough outlines for various mixes that would no doubt end up in one of two folders she had made specially for the blonde and the ginger. The former was a rather long playlist that she had been constructing ever since she had started mixing, and the latter already had at least 7 mixes of Titanium in there even though she'd only started it a few weeks ago. Anyways, by the time she looked up to rest her eyes, she saw Stacie get up to answer the door which was knocked on, apparently.

A few seconds later, Beca was met by an opened box of pizza that Stacie was holding in front of her face. She smiled the brightest at the sight of food and immediately grabbed two slices, folding them in a sandwich and taking a huge bite that made the taller brunette laugh at her antics. "Oh my god! I love you so much!" Beca exclaimed while still chewing.

"Thanks!" Stacie replied with a chuckle, although she was convinced that Beca was talking to the pizza. She grabbed a slice for herself and ate in silence for a while before it became too quiet for her liking and she ended up blurting out the question that she'd been dying to ask since the activities fair, "Can you forgive her?"

"Wha-" Beca asked with her mouth full of what looked like a her third slice.

"Aubrey." Stacie said and immediately regretted when she saw Beca's face fall as she tried to swallow the last of her slice. "I mean, she is still your sister, can you ever forgive her?"

Beca was silent for a while and it made Stacie worry that she'd crossed the line until she spoke in a low voice, almost sounding defeated, "I can't, Stace. She left me, she lied to me, she didn't even once tried to call me all those years and then she became this uptight bitch who called me one not two minutes after meeting me. But even after everything, I am still stupid enough to love her."

Stacie watched silently as her best friend slowly broke out of her shell long enough to show how much she cared, "I can't forgive her because there is nothing to forgive. I know that it's not her fault that our jerk of a father somehow managed to get her custody even after abandoning my mom and I without any second thought what so ever. And when I finally excepted the fact that she was not coming back, I stopped expecting any contact at all so really, she didn't disappoint me when she didn't stick around after my mom's funeral, or even when she didn't recognize me at the fair. I mean, it's not like I am still that scrawny 15 year old emo-geek that she saw next to her grandmother that day."

Beca was unaware of the tears that started to fall on her own face until she saw Stacie in the similar state and gave a small chuckle at the silliness of this whole situation. They had a pizza to finish after all. The DJ grabbed another slice from the box and gave it to Stacie with her trademark smirk that instantly brought a smile on her face, both coming to a silent understanding.

"Besides, you've met my father, it's been barely over a month and he is already on top of my kill list, he is so not the guy I knew as a kid. If that's how's been to her for the last 11 years, I have more reasons than ever to think that she has nothing to do with any of the accusations I had against her. So, even if she doesn't want me in her life, I am gonna stick around long enough to make sure that it's her own decision." Beca concluded nonchalantly, although her voice consist of determination and to Stacie's surprise and delight, a little bit of something that she'd never had before; hope.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

Around 9pm, both girls were busy with their respective homework assignments, not having anything better to do since their only friends, Jesse, Benji and surprisingly Luke, were out having a boys night. Although, it was more like staying in their dorm, having a Star Wars marathon and playing Call of Duty with a six-pack BudLight and pizza. It was true that Beca could beat them in any game within the first round but she had a time limit when it came to spending time with geeks and Luke lost his street cred as soon as he started singing along to the 'Wednesday's Indie Night' on the radio.

The girls were in middle of their routine sing along the radio while studying, when they were interrupted by a rather loud and urgent banging on the door. Stacie got up to answer it while Beca turned down the volume of DJ MixProdigy introducing another track. Before she could even open the door completely, the tall brunette was met by Chloe, in all her redheaded glory, yelling "INITIATION!" as she threw a sack over her head and pulled her out the room. Two seconds later, she heard Beca growl in protest and come to stand next to her, probably with a sack on her head too.

They were led through a series of stairs and hallways, guided only by the redhead's voice telling them to keep walking and beware of the bumps. After five minutes of this, Beca was cursing in her head at how many times she'd almost tripped and died, while Stacie tried hard not to laugh each time the short brunette would grab her arm to keep from falling. Finally, they came to a stop and somebody separated them and stood them next to some kind of a heat source, and several other girls were asking the same questions they had; something along the lines of, "Where am I?", "Is this some kind of a cult?", "When does initiation start?" and the most common one, "Who the hell stepped on my foot?!"

Beca heard a cheery voice, undoubtedly Chloe's, telling everyone to quiet down before she heard two pair of footsteps coming closer and Aubrey's familiar voice announcing names of some girls followed by rustling of clothes (probably when their respective hoods were being ripped off).

"We have with us, the Sopranos: Jessica, Mary Elise, Lilly." Three hoods off, footsteps getting closer.

"The Mezzos: Cynthia Rose, Stacie, Florencia."Thank god, Stacie's thought, partly convinced that they were actually in a cult and were gonna get slaughtered or sacrificed or something.

"And our Altos: Fat Amy, Emily, Ashley and Beca." With that she was finally free of the suffocating hood and instantly startled at her own close proximity to a candle. _Wait, what?!_

Once she'd adjusted her eyes to the lights in the room, Beca finally got a look around and was quite disturbed to see how much this place resembled her cult theory. There were at least a hundred candles lit all across the room, she stood in a perfect line with 9 other girls and in front of them was a table covered with a white cloth with 10 scarves placed around a goblet that contained some unsettlingly red liquid.

"Okay! Initiates!" Aubrey called their attention, walking to stand behind the table with Chloe at her side. "We shall begin by drinking the blood of the sisters that came before you."

Beca looked horrified as Chloe took the red liquid from the blonde and offered it to her, "Dude, no!" She shook her head, ignoring the snicker that most definitely came from Stacie while the other girls had a mixture of excitement and nervousness on their faces. Even Aubrey gave an amused smile at her sister's reaction.

"Don't worry, it's Boone's Farm wine." Chloe whispered in assurance as Beca finally accepted the goblet and took a cautious sip before grimacing at the taste and immediately passing it to Ashley.

After everyone was done with the wine, Chloe took the rest of it back to the table (although, she did have to wrestle it out of Fat Amy's grip before she could finish the whole thing). Then, the seniors handed out the scarves to them and told them to sing out their names after placing the scarf in their right hand. Stacie actually had to tell Beca, which was her right side; this didn't go unnoticed by Aubrey who vaguely remembered Stacie telling her that Beca had a minor case of dyslexia when she was about 9 or 10 and some times she still could get confused with directions and word pronunciations.

Aubrey couldn't help but feel her guilt piling up again, but she shook it off for the meantime, focusing on how unharmonized their name singing was. They had to work on it ASAP, "Now, repeat after me." She said, "I promise to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of a Bella woman."

Once they were done repeating, Aubrey continued, "And I promise to never have sexual relations with a Treblemaker or may my vocal cords be ripped out by wolves."

The girls gave her odd looks but repeated anyways, "Congratulations, you are all Bella's now!"

The girls started squealing and jumping: Stacie gave a bone crushing hug to Beca who tried not to laugh as she struggle out of her grasp, Fat Amy grabbed the remaining wine and chugged it down and Cynthia Rose tried to stop Emily from doing a weird victory dance. One thing was sure though, they had a lot of work to do if they even wanted to get past regionals this year.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

"Ladies, welcome to A-ca-initiation night. Prepare to soften the beach." Aubrey walked down the stairs of the amphitheater, ready to drown all her stress in the alcohol, sleep till noon tomorrow and be fresh and prepared for rehearsals on Monday.

The Bellas instantly mixed up in the crowd, some going to get a drink and some mingling with other a capella people. Fat Amy joined Aubrey as she did vodka shots at the makeshift bar; five shots later, she was buzzed and both blondes sat there chatting about random stuff.

"I call this hairstyle: Orthodox Jew ponytail." Fat Amy said, gesturing to her hair as Aubrey nodded in drunken interest, "You know, because its reserved at the front and party in the back."

xo

Somewhere else at the party, Beca and Stacie were just finished chattting with Ashley when a drunk Jesse made his up the stairs, shouting their names (well, sort of) "Be-caw! Stay-sea!"

"Hey, Jess. Are you okay, dude? Drink much?" Beca asked him once he was close enough, getting a dopey grin in return.

"Do my eyes decieve me, or are you guys singing geeks now too?" He smiled smugly as Beca rolled her eyes and Stacie laughed. "And who were you guys talking to, before I got here? She was cute."

"Ooh, Ashley has a crusher!" Stacie squealed as Jesse turned red, not from achohol though.

"Sorry, dude. But she is way out of your league, too pretty, too smart, too nice." Beca teased and almost smiled when Jesse didn't back down.

"Face it, bro. She is one of those a capella girls, I am one of those a capella boys and we are gonna have aca-children together. It's inevitable!" He retorted back before glancing at their empty cups. "And now, I'll be a gentleman and get you guys drinks, make sure to mention that to her."

With that, Jesse left the girls with a final wink at which Stacie laughed heartily (or was it the booze) and even Beca cracked a genuine smile that didn't go unnoticed by a certain ginger and a blonde.

xo

"So there's like ten of us, and that means, one of us is a probably a lesbian." Fat Amy slurred, sipping her 4th, no wait 5th drink of the night, "My money is on 'short stack' and 'legs', over there."

Aubrey payed a closer attention to where Amy was pointing at Beca and Stacie and found the taller brunette giving her sister a piggy back ride. If she hadn't known better, she would've mistaken them as a couple too but fortunately, she caught the evil smirk that Beca had as she no doubt tackled Stacie and made her carry her to the top of the stairs.

"Nah, they are just friends." Aubrey told Amy, who was back to getting herself a refill from the keg next to them. The Bella captain was mildly curious at how she could handle such an amount of booze at one time, especially when Aubrey was only on her second cup.

"You sure about that?" Amy asked once she settled herself back on the stone wall that they occupied. "'Cause ginga over there is getting pretty handsy with the munchkin."

Aubrey snapped her head toward the scene at a lightening speed, sure enough, Chloe was standing where she last seen Stacie, holding Beca by her wrists and leaning her face so close that it looked like they were gonna kiss. Immediately, Aubrey made her way to the nearest place that was hidden from the public view and emptied the contents of her stomach. The sight of her sister and her best friend at such close proximity was too much for her drunken mind and she needed an emergency escape from the party so, mostly in her senses, she walked home; just in time to miss the campus police crashing the party, sending everyone running away too.

xo

Meanwhile, Beca was not having the time of her life either as she grabbed a buzzed Stacie by hand and practically carried a wasted Jesse back to their respective dorms, all the while thinking: What the hell happened back there?

After Jesse left, Beca insisted on Stacie carrying her up the stairs as part of the bet that she lost, on whether or not she would get in the Bellas despite her horrible audition. Later, Jessica and Flo pulled Stacie to the bar for celebratory shots and Beca was only just planning to head over to her sister (alcohol giving her confidence and all) when she was ambushed by a very drunk and slightly tipsy, Chloe.

She'd pulled the DJ so close that her breath hitched, thinking that they might kiss but instead, Chloe began whispering at how glad she was that Beca auditioned and how they were going to be 'fast friends'. To make thing even more complicated, the brunette found herself flirting back and even mentioning their shower encounter, making it worse with an involuntary wink. Luckily, Chloe pulled back just in time to give her a flirtatious grin and say something about her 'Jiggle Juice' before slapping her own hip and walking away, leaving a very flustered, very confused Beca to deal with her racing heartbeat.

After that, Beca didn't see either of the Bella captains at the party but her concern was clouded by the sight of Jesse and Stacie having a drinking contest; granted that she had higher alcohol tolerance and he was already wasted, Stacie won. However, the next thing they knew, was Justin yelling something about campus police that sent all the people scattering to escape the scene. Beca barely had a second to think before she joined the commotion, dragging her friends in tow.

Five minutes later, they were at Benji's door and suddenly Jesse was immediately hugging his best friend, slurring something along the lines of, "I am sorry that you didn't get in, dude. I will kick there ass for hurting my bro. Do you know where my kick is? I don't see it."

Despite the obvious disappointment of seeing the Trebles kidnap Jesse and not him, in middle of their Freedom Fighter game challenge, Benji managed to crack a small smile at his friend's antics. He led the drunk brunet to his bed before thanking Beca with a much appreciated bottle of water as the DJ continued her journey to Baker Hall with her drunken best friend leaning on her small frame and mumbling nonsense in her ear.

Finally, after half an hour of struggle and drunk resistance, Beca managed to put her to bed; once she'd picked up all the previously scattered books, replaced her jeans with pajama bottoms and stripped her down to just a tank top. The small brunette was beyond exhausted and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, not even caring to change. However, just before she fell completely unconscious, she heard her best friend mumble something that immediately made the top spot in her tomorrow's to do list.

"You are a good friend, Beca. And Bee loves you too."

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

 **A/N: don't judge, it's just a filler and I am really sleepy. Just keep reviewing and ask me stuff, I'll explain them in the next author's note. Love you all, next chapter ASAP**.


	7. Cross Your Heart And Boss Me (Around)

**A/N: Okay! The chapter** **before** **the chapter that you've all been waiting for; (I am looking at you, the Guest who I wished had left their name). I wrote this like, 4 weeks ago but school started so I didn't get time to post it and by the time I did….. my beloved google docs deleted it -_- Thanks ALOT!**

 **So, I sincerely apologize for the delay. Stick with me?**

 **Disclaimer** **: Last time I checked, not even the device I am writing on is my own. (School laptop. SHUSH, Don't Tell!)**

 **Chapter Seven: Cross Your Heart And Boss Me (Around)**

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

Do you ever get that feeling that sometimes the tiniest of decisions that you make are just pieces of something huge planned by the universe? Like when you bend down to tie your shoelace just in time to miss the ball that was coming to hit you. Or when you miss a bus and end up making a new friend while waiting for the next one. Or even when you decide to walk through the halls to get to your class, instead of taking a short cut through the quad and find yourself witnessing a heated argument between the person you hate the most in this world, and the person that you just can't. It freezes you on the spot at the same time as blowing your mind out of proportion...

Too Dramatic? Yikes! Let's do it again. This time, keep it cool and simple.

 **Monday Morning Take Two**

Beca was so regretting asking Stacie to let her laze around all day yesterday, in exchange for a promise to do anything the taller brunette asked her to for a whole day, just someday after the weekend. Granted, she was able to finish 3 of her new mixes, read the Half Blood Prince for the 20th time, AND take a few naps in-between her homework (which she managed to finish before midnight, mind you). But now it all seemed unworthy of being forced out of sleep at 8am, given barely enough time to eat breakfast (or wake up, for that matter) before she was dragged to their European History lecture by her annoyingly chirpy best friend.

However, Stacie's reason for being so excited wasn't just the fact that she had the badass DJ on her fingertips (though, she was loving it!), but it was in fact what she had planned to do with her new found power. This might be her only chance to get Beca to finally talk and set things out with her sister. And since meddling requires a partner in crime, she had just the redhead for the role.

But all of it would require them getting to the Bellas' rehearsals on time, meaning right after their lecture, which is partially the reason she was literally pushing Beca through the halls right now; other than the fact that it totally annoyed the DJ and THAT was hilarious to watch.

They were just about to pass by the main administration building, where most of the professors had their offices, when they stopped dead in their tracks to see none other than the green eyed monster standing there with her back pressed against the wall as a bigger monster named Warren Mitchell stood towering over her. Both brunettes noticed the tensed and trembling figure of the blonde, despite the unwavering glare she gave to the man who seemed to be hissing something to her that they couldn't hear. His expression was of nothing more than anger and pure disgust, that screamed the words he was trying not to.

Beca was unaware of her feet moving forward until she was yanked back by someone who dragged her into a hallway to the side; her shout of surprise muffled by the hand that covered her mouth as she found herself staring directly into Chloe's crystal blue eyes. However, before she could completely lose herself in the steel blue eyes of the tiny brunette, the redhead removed her gaze; along with her hand that she now used to put a finger on her lips and gesture them to be quiet. The pair nodded and Beca subtly shook her head to clear of the daze of their brief staring contest before she leaned against the wall and peaked around the corner to watch the argument between her sister and father. Stacie and Chloe copied her actions and the three of them watched the blonde stand her ground as the big bad wolf blew constant insults at her.

"Aubrey and I were just coming to submit the application for the a capella regionals this year," Chloe explained to them in a whisper, none of them removing their eyes from the blonde though. "We were gonna grab something to eat before heading to set up for the practise but Dr. Mitchell was going to his office when he heard us mention of you being a Bella, Beca, and he just flipped. Brey told me to go right away, I am sorry."

Beca briefly glanced at the redhead's worried expression before looking back at her sister, just in time to see her say something back to the man that made his face a deep shade of red as he raised his hand to hit her. Aubrey had already closed her eyes as she waited for the impact of one of the many slaps she'd gotten over the years for actually talking to her father about the things she cared about, and every single time he would make her feel like she deserved worse.

Three people cringed visibly at the high pitched sound of skin hitting skin... But Aubrey didn't feel anything; no numb feeling on her cheek nor the sting that follows. She opened her eyes to look into her father's green ones and saw the usual anger and disgust rivaling some shock as he caught the completely unexpected sight to her left, where stood Beca in all her 5ft 2in glory with a cold blank stare and a red handprint on her wrist.

"R-Rebeca... W-What are doing here?" The question came from Warren Mitchell himself once he had composed himself to stand straight and confident as if he didn't just physically abuse his own daughter. In a blink, he was all innocent and ignorant; even going as far as giving a full blown smile to the two new additions to their little 'chat group'.

"It's Beca, 'Dad'." the tiny brunette spat out the word like a poison, her glare unwavering despite the man's damn good acting, "And what I am doing here is fulfilling my end of our little bargain; I am trying something 'new' and it's called standing up for the things I care about."

Stacie and Chloe shared an amused look and the former even hid a smile at the reference to the deal that occurred on the audition day as Aubrey stood stunned in apparent shock. She wasn't expecting anything unexpected this morning. She certainly wasn't expecting an encounter with her father. She wasn't expecting him to lash out on her despite the presence of Chloe. But most importantly, she was definitely not expecting her sister to be here, let alone stand up for her and against their own father.

"We made a deal, Beca!" He spoke in his sickly sweet but slightly warning tone. "You said you wouldn't become a singing hooligan-"

"No, _you_ said it!" Beca cut him off mid-sentence, her voice strong despite the small urge to cry out at her throbbing wrist. Her anger flared at the thought of her sister having to endure the same pain on her face, no doubt several times over the years that she lived with this monster.

"I never agreed to it! Our only 'deal' was that if I join a club on campus, _any_ club, as you said, you would get off my back for the rest of the year!"

However, she didn't let him respond before she spoke again, her tone deadly calm and intimidating, "I kept my promise. And it's best that you keep yours: stay out of my life and away from the ones in it!"

Despite the shunned silence, two people couldn't help but notice that this wasn't the actual promise they made, but Stacie wasn't going to call her friend on it; at least, not now. And Warren wasn't given even opportunity to argue as Beca grabbed Aubrey by her wrist and pushed past him, walking away with the blonde with the other two girls in tow. Abandoning him like he did to her.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

Beca dragged her sister away from their father and kept on walking for a good 5 minutes, not really having a destination in mind. In fact, she didn't really have anything in her mind right now. She was blanked out. What happened, what she did, was all still processing in her. Why? She didn't know.

Well, actually she did know, but God forbid, all hell will break loose if she even ever dare to admit it. Admit that she wasn't a cold hearted bitch after all.

She kept walking, not thinking. Or at least trying really hard not to. It's not until she sees a wall in front of her that she realizes that she has somehow ended up in the empty campus pool. She wasn't sure why she was there, or how she even remembered this path since she'd only been here one time, but nobody else was there, so it's calmingly quiet. Beca took a deep breath, closing her eyes to try and focus on her flying thoughts.

She had found this place sometime last month when she was trying to make a mix in the quad with her laptop but it was like rush hour after the last class of the evening and people were streaming around in crowds of dozens. The DJ increased the volume and tuned out the loud socializing around her. However, after the third time someone almost tripped over her as she was lying down, Beca got beyond frustrated and decided to just escape through the crowd, accidently stumbling in this abandoned pool. Which, turns out, had great acoustics when she recorded her own voice for the bass line of a mix.

Maybe, she could do it now; sing. It did always help her through conflicting times. But, spontaneously breaking out into a song at a random moment like this, sounded extremely dramatic and cheesy. She had a badass image to protect, after all. _Don't badasses break into spontaneous rapping as well?_

"Are you gonna rap, now?!" Beca literally jumped two feet in the air at the voice behind her. She turned around and suddenly her face rivalled the colour of a ripe tomato. Aubrey, Chloe and Stacie were all standing there, with mixed emotions on their faces and an awkward silence creeping up on them as they waited for the DJ to say something.

But as we all know, Beca Mitchell is a stuttering mess in these situations and it was a huge achievement on her behalf when she managed to choke a small, "How?"

"You dragged her here, Midget." Stacie reminded her, amused by the whole scenario as she pointed towards Aubrey, who was awkwardly staring at her hand that was still in Beca's.

"Oh!" Beca exclaimed, looking at their hands for a split second before releasing her and stepping back a little; she forgot that she had been holding it all this time and no doubt it must hurt by the way she was unconsciously dragging the blonde.

Aubrey gently rubbed her somewhat sore wrist, though Beca didn't fail to see the disappointed look on the blonde's face before she masked it away and crossed her arms over her chest. The awkward silence seem to stretch painfully as Beca stared at her feet, fascinated by her plain black boots, and Aubrey inspected her nails, trying to look totally nonchalant; meanwhile, Stacie awkwardly rocked back and forth on her heels, and Chloe… well, Chloe was beginning to lose her patience in this mess.

"Are you going to rap, or what?!" she asked suddenly and all heads turned to look at her, confused but grateful for having the stupid silence broken.

"I can't believe, I said that out loud!" Beca berated herself, bashfully slapping her forehead.

"So, you were thinking about it?" Stacie jumped in, grinning widely at her best friend's glare.

"You can rap?" Aubrey spoke up for the first time.

"I can….." Beca trailed off, her eyes connecting with her sister's for a moment before both them looked away, causing the others to sigh.

"Don't belittle yourself. Beca can rap like it's nobody's business!"

"Is that so? Can she rap like Pitbull or Eminem though?"

"Oh yeah, they've got nothing on her."

"Haha, nice pun."

"I know right!"

"So will she rap for us, now?"

"I don't know. How about it, Becs? Rap for Chloe and Aubrey."

"Come on, Beca. Be a sport."

Beca gaped her best friend who just matched her grin to the redhead's as they shared a mischievous look. Aubrey wasn't so different either; sure, she was giving a warning look to her best friend as well, but truth be told, she kinda liked the sight of a flustered DJ trying to come up with an appropriate response without stuttering.

"I-I'd love t-to." Beca said, trying not to look at the seniors at all, before Stacie's teasing smirk got to her and she sobered up instantly. "But, Stacie and I have a class to get to. And since this is only time I actually put an effort in an assignment, I need to hand it in. So, Stace?"

"Oh right!" Stacie nodded, before realization dawned on her and she jumped. "OH MY GOD! WE ARE LATE!"

And just like that, the events of the morning were somewhat repeated as Stacie Conrad practically ran to her class, pushing the smirking DJ along with her. The seniors smiled as they shook their heads and proceeded to their original plans.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

Around one in the afternoon, seven freshman girls made their different ways to the auditorium for the first Bella's practice of the year. They were immediately greeted by their Captains, who obviously had their game face on; though, Chloe's was hardly as scary as Aubrey's. And they told them to take their respective seats, ignoring the fact that two chairs were still vacant, and their tallest and tiniest members were not there.

"Alright, Bellas!" Aubrey called their attention in a softer tone than what they'd expected. "Before we begin, I'd like to remind you all that this group is more than just a collegiate level a capella team. It is a sisterhood that will support you all through college and hopefully the rest of your lives. We stand by each other and the oath we took. Now, let's begin-"

"Wait! I am sorry!" Mary Elise cried suddenly, "I made a mistake. I didn't know Julio was a Treble, and I-I a-am sorry-y."

"I am sorry too. But rules are rules." the senior blonde cut her off, holding out a hand for her Bella scarf. Even though she kept her voice emotionless and authoritative, Aubrey watched with a slight regret in her eyes as Mary Elise begin to walk out the room, shamefully dragging her chair with her until she could no longer control her sobs and ran past the pair of brunettes who had just opened the door.

"Was that necessary?" Beca asked incredulously as she proceeded to take a chair in the center row, with Stacie in front of her.

"This is war, Bellas!" Aubrey replied, not even glancing at her, even though she was internally dancing at the fact that she showed up to practice despite what happened. "And it is my job to have my soldiers prepped at go time with three kick-ass songs, sung and choreographed to perfection! I will not a have a repeat of last year."

"What happened last year?" Lilly whispered behind Beca, when everyone else was too stunned to speak.

"I am sorry, what?" Chloe asked, her expression of confusion like everyone else's except Beca.

"What happened last year? And do you guys wanna see a dead body?" Lilly whispered again, but no one seem to hear her once more, everyone sitting in an awkward silence. This angered Beca somewhat, that no one was standing up for the small girl, who was supposed to be their teammate. She was sure that at least some of them must have heard her if Beca could.

"She asked about what happened last year." Beca sighed, controlling her frustration as she gave the girl a small smile.

"And she asked if you guys want to see a dead body; which, I am down for, by the way." Stacie continued, standing by her best friend yet again as the DJ gave her an awkward high five over the shoulder.

"Yeah, I haven't seen one since I moved here. It's sad, really." Flo joined in, grinning at the tiny asian who finally gave a timid smile back. Then she pulled out her tablet from her bag and opened up a video of the 2011 ICCA Finals.

The younger girls gathered around her to watch while Aubrey silently berated herself for her slip up as well as for being a hypocrite and not understanding her teammate, especially after the speech she made. On the other hand, Beca felt confusion and worry sneak up on her as she watched the video of her sister's embarrassing mishap from last year and wondered what made her ever so gentle older sister turn so sick and stressed in the first place.

The other girls, however, laughed and snickered at the video, making Stacie feel bad as she tried to get them to click on some other random video and just forget about this one. Chloe was the same, she hated the guilt and regret on her best friend's face and decided to speak up, "Alright, that's enough! It happened. It's over."

Once the girls settled back down, Aubrey handed them a list of songs for their performance and Beca couldn't help but comment on how old they were, to which her sister gave only a stern look and a curt reply saying that 'they don't stray from tradition'. The blonde then continued to lead the rehearsals, although, involuntarily leaving the brunette to wonder about the meaning of that sentence.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

 _Three hours later….._

"Hands in, Bellas!" Aubrey shouted, putting out her hand but received nothing more than confused looks from the girls, forcing her to shout again. "Hands in, Aca-Bitches!"

This time, the tired and exhausted Bellas did put out their hands in a circle and on Aubrey's que sang a note of 'Aaah' on three, sounding unsynchronized, unharmonized and downright horrible!

"We'll work on that, the first thing, next time!" The blonde said with a forced smile, trying to keep her frustration at bay. "And remember, next week is Sigma Beta Theta's annual fall mixer and we are asked to perform. So, be at the rehearsals, same time tomorrow."

The girls gave groans and nods as a response as they made their out of the auditorium and away from this hell hole. Aubrey walked over to the whiteboard and started erasing today's chart to make new one for tomorrow while Chloe began arranging the fold up chairs in a pile and Beca went to grab her backpack.

Practice had gone well, she supposed. Of course, she hated the fact Aubrey had them do 30 minutes of cardio running around the bleachers, work non stop on some lame ass choreography, walk in heels, do vocal exercises and sing Ace of Base. But, Beca was gladly surprised to see her sister show some signs of her old caring self during those three hours. She was very patient with the girls, especially Emily when the poor clumsy kid couldn't get the steps right. And when Amy couldn't do the cardio, Aubrey let her do 'horizontal running' instead, which was basically laying down and barely moving her legs. In fact, she asked Chloe to help out Beca personally when the DJ couldn't remember all the steps.

A part of her wondered that maybe Aubrey knew of her dyslexia or something, but then she got distracted by Stacie making a public show of groping herself while she danced. Beca simply snorted at this, knowing perfectly well that her friend was just creating this sluty image for herself before she ever showed her smart side. It was a silly game that she played with the new kids or teachers, back in school; acting like a total bitch for a while, just to see their priceless faces when she turned out to be pretty much a genius. Unfortunately, the Bellas fell for it too, and Aubrey tried her best to keep her eyes away every time, and her blush hidden.

Luckily, Beca didn't notice it. However, she did notice that her backpack wasn't where she had left it, instead, Stacie was there, waiting for her after everyone left.

"Hey, Becs! Remember when you promised to do my bidding for a whole day? Well, it's time for pay up."

Beca eyes widened comically and she didn't wait for a second to dash the opposite way, only to be blocked by Chloe, who wore a similarly evil smile. "That's the third time you've ran into me. Rule book says, you have to do what I say."

The DJ gulped audibly, looking between the two girls who just looked back at her with a serious look. She was doomed, she knew it. And it seemed that other girls did too as they simply gave her a bright smile and together walked out of the door, closing it behind them. Leaving behind a dumbfounded brunette and her still oblivous to her presence, older sister.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

"You think, it's going to work?" Chloe asked casully, leaning against the wall, just outside the auditorium.

"If it doesn't, I still have Beca in my control for the rest of the day." Stacie replied excitedly.

"You really like bossing her around, don't you?"

"Absolutely! I've been doing it for 11 years now, but it's always so fun!"

"Oh yeah? It doesn't look like that she'd let that happen."

"I am older. *shrugs*. And I have alot of blackmail material!"

"Cool! Me too. Aubrey may be older than me, but it's so easy to tease her sometimes."

"Well, knowing the awkward creature Beca is, it's gonna take a long time before they get out. Wanna share some notes in the mean time?"

"Totes!"

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

 **A/N: Good? Bad? Tell me!**

 **Also, I wanna add more flashbacks in the future chapters, so give me some ideas.**

 **For Example, on Beca's 18th birthday (Dec09) with Aubrey, a flahback to Beca's 8th birthday without her.**


	8. Cross Your Heart And Talk To Me

**A/N: Here it is! I think I have lived up to all the waiting. If you don't, Tell me what else can I add in the future and I'll try my best to make it up to you….Stick with me?**

 **Ps. A shout out to Guest, Guest and 'a-ca-guest' (I have feeling it was you). Thanx for the support. LOVE YOU SO MUCH.**

 **Pps. 'until its gone', you are my biggest supporter. Thank You for it and the awesome ideas for flashbacks, keep 'em coming!**

 **Ppps. To another Guest without name (you should really leave one), Angst is a must…. I had the similar thing planned, and *SPOILER ALERT* dad drama too.**

 **Disclaimer** **: Owned by the franchise. The sub plot is mine, though.**

 **Chapter Eight: Cross Your Heart And Talk To Me**

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

As Stacie and Chloe were busy chatting and building a friendship over a common goal; getting two really stubborn sisters to fix their mess; the said sisters were just inside the door, having an equally intense chat. Of some sorts, at least.

While Aubrey was busy speaking to herself as she plotted the flow chart for the rehearsals tomorrow, Beca was watching her from afar and wondering: what the hell was wrong with the blonde that caused her to become this uptight scrunch who stressed over small things, like winning a stupid singing competition?

Beca contemplated on whether she should go to her or bail once again but knowing that Stacie was probably blocking the exit, she decided to just get it over with. Better not mess with girl who had enough stories to shun her into embarrassment for eternity, and also the girl who had enough guts to casually barge into her shower stark naked. Beca still shivered thinking about the former that she rather not give a thought to the latter.

Sensing the other person's presence, Aubrey decided to speak up, not looking away from the board yet.

"Help me here, Chloe. We better be aca-awesome for the fall mixer!"

Beca almost scoffed at her mistake but refrained herself from any response as she walked over and grabbed another marker and eraser from the table. Silently, she joined her sister and sighed before erasing all her hard work in a jiff.

"What the hell-!" Aubrey finally turned and stopped in mid sentence when she didn't see Chloe, as assumed. "Beca?"

The brunette didn't answer, just kept erasing. "Stop, Beca. What are you doing?" No answer. "Stop erasing my work!" Nothing.

Aubrey scowled as she tried to snatch away the eraser but the brunette firmly gripped her hands in one of her own, finally cleaning the whole board with the other. "What's wrong with you, Mitchell?!"

"What's wrong with **you** , Mitchell?! Because something is!" Beca finally shot back with a more exasperated tone than an angry one.

"Huh?" Aubrey frowned at her, hands still in a strong grip.

"Something... Is wrong, isn't it?" Beca sighed, looking at her with a concerned expression.

"Why?" Aubrey asked instead, her voice defeated, suddenly tired of all the arguments and grudges and misunderstandings and bullshit.

"Because-" Beca started, taking a deep breath to control her voice. "Because, this is not you. _This_ is not the girl who saw a sad puppy on the sidewalk and brought it home with her, crying when our father wouldn't let her keep it. You hid Duffy in the shed for months after that."

"What do you want, Beca?" The blonde sighed, a ghost of a smile falling on her face at the somewhat happy memory.

"I want to help." she replied firmly, letting go of her hands. "Help you, help us, help this stupid singing group. Do whatever it takes. I am tired of pretending not to care!"

"So you don't hate me anymore?" Aubrey asked slowly, wanting to know that she hadn't messed them up beyond repair. Needing to know that Beca would still be a part of her life, and let her be a part of her own.

"Oh no, I still hate you," Beca replied instantly, but added before Aubrey could even understand properly, "But I do forgive you. And I want to help you."

"You still stood up for me, you know." The blonde reminded her, silently hoping that it wasn't just in the spur moment.

"You are still my sister. I will always stand up for you!" Beca said, as if it was obvious. And maybe, it was. Aubrey gave her a small satisfied smile before breaking out in a laugh when Beca scowled, "That was so corny! Never speak of it!"

"No problem, your secret's safe with me." The blonde smirked as the other sighed in relief. "Although, if you want to help me, take those ear monstrosities out for the fall mixer."

"You really don't like me, do you?" Beca retorted, playfully.

"I don't like your attitude."

"You don't even know me."

"I know that you only got them because of a dare Stacie gave you when you were 16 and then you just ended up liking them because you thought they made you look cool."

"How-?"

"I also know that Stacie is the one who made you come here and talk to me. And she is probably standing outside right now, trying to listen in and will be cursing me but I needed to know more about you so I made her tell me some stuff."

"What do you know?" Beca asked with a horrified face.

"Nothing much, just enough to know when I offer to buy you pizza tonight, you won't refuse because you love food and you love me..."

The brunette noticed the sentence trail off but for the blonde's happiness, made no mention of it. "Well, I do love pizza."

"I know! Oh and Stacie also told me that your shift ends at 8, so I'll pick you up then!" Aubrey squeal in excitement, making Beca laugh at how ridiculous she looked.

"Wait, when did you and Stacie even talk?" Both girls sobered up immediately at this; both in confusion.

"She didn't tell you?" It was more like a statement.

"Tell me what?"

"Oh..." Realization hit the blonde right in the face. She didn't speak for a long time and Beca was getting impatient. "How's Duffy, by the way?"

"Fine. Lives with Grandma."

"That's great. He must be old now."

"Yeah, he is. But, we'll talk about his two pups later. Now, stop trying to change the subject."

"Pups! Aww! How?"

"Aubrey!"

"Beca!"

"Tell me!"

"Fine!"

So, the blonde finally approached the point really slow and cautiously; not quite sure why her cheeks flared up at this moment. "She... Came to my house a couple of weeks ago... After our... Argument? We... Sort of-"

Beca didn't wait for the end; the stammering and the blush was enough for her mind to jump to the worst case scenario as she spun on her heels, marching to the exit to find her friend.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

"Do you see anything?" Stacie asked the senior who had her face pressed to the door.

Despite how stalkerish it sounded, both were taking turns watching through the small keyhole, hoping to catch a glimpse of the two sisters. They hadn't heard any yelling or shouting for a long time and it was really quieter than what they'd expected. The last they had heard was both girls shouting 'what's wrong with you?' and after that it had gone eerily quiet. You can not blame them for wanting to check if they'd killed each other or something.

"They are standing…. and Bree is smiling!" Chloe squealed, getting Stacie curious. "And now, she is not. Talking again. Oh wait!"

" _Aubrey!"_

" _Beca!"_

" _Tell me!"_

"What was that?" Stacie asked, startled by the shouts that came from within.

"I have no idea." The redhead winced at the sound too before peaking again, "Wait, Beca turned around. She looks angry. She is heading this way!"

Both girls backed away a split second before the door opened and immediately took positions leaning against opposite walls, trying to look as casual and innocent as possible. Unfortunately, Beca wouldn't have none of it and lashed out before the door was even fully open.

"YOU SLEPT WITH MY SISTER!?"

"What?!" Three voices rang out.

"She told me that you went to her house with her. How could you do that, Stace?! She is my sister, for Hell's Sake!" The taller brunette looked equally as confused as the two seniors, all of them looking at the tiny DJ who was fuming visibly.

"What are talking about, Becs?" Stacie managed to ask after her initial shock.

"That day, after our argument, you went home with Aubrey, didn't you?" Beca accused. Aubrey was the first one to realize the whole situation and almost slapped herself on the forehead for being such an idiot. Almost as idiotic as the fuming brunette.

"Oh my God, Beca!" The blonde exclaimed, breaking the staring contest between the two friends. "You totally misinterpreted this. Stacie and I just talked and watched a movie before falling asleep on the couch together, we didn't actually _sleep_ together!"

"Really?" Beca blinked, her anger turning to confusion, and then to realization once she saw her friend and sister nod simultaneously. "So, nothing happened?"

"Nope. We just hung out."

"Yeah, Becs, I'd never do that to you." At this, the DJ was bound to crack an apologetic smile but instantly retreated into a scowl when as usual, Stacie turned whatever topic they were on, into a 'tease-time Beca'. "I can't say the same thing about you and Chloe though."

"W-what do y-you mean?" So, what do you do when you see a perpetual badass like Beca Mitchell stuttering at even a very minorly suggestive dialogue? Depends, because right now Stacie was looking absolutely smug, while Chloe giggled without control and Aubrey was showing a mixture of confused and curiosity.

"Yeah, Chlo, you never told me what happened that night." It was now Aubrey's turn to accuse her best friend, who, unlike Beca, was extremely nonchalant about the whole mess. "And don't tell me it was nothing, I know you came home wearing somebody else's hoodie."

"Relax, Bree. It was Beca's. I borrowed it because I didn't have any fresh clothes to wear after the shower." Chloe explained, her smile only widening when Stacie let out an awkward cough that made Beca's cheeks flare up and her sister watched with amusement.

"I think there's more to that story…" Aubrey trailed off, looking skeptical of the mischievous look that the two girls gave to Beca, until she was forced to speak…. or babble, for the lack of a better term.

"No. No, there isn't. That's it. That's what happened. Nothing else. Except, I have a shift at the radio station right now. So…. BYE!"

For the second time that day, Beca fled the scene of awkwardness and teasing with a laughing Stacie in tow. She had got to make sure never to be in the same room as the redhead and her best friend together, to avoid any more backlash to her badass rep. Make that Chloe, Stacie _and_ Aubrey, because no doubt the blonde enjoyed it as much as the other two, if the perpetual smirk on her face was anything to go by.

Secretly, all of them actually liked being able to joke around like that again. And despite the cheesiness of it, they'd like to keep such smiles on each other's faces as much as they can.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

"Hey, Beca! How's it going?" Jesse asked super cheerfully as he strolled through the radio station, once again, five minutes late. Luke and Beca both rolled their eyes at his antics, long ago given up to get him on time. Now, they were sure he did it just to piss off the British, but the guy got him back by hardly reacting to it.

"Nothing? Come on, people! I am a whole SIX minutes late!" Jesse whined, managing to get a smile out of the brunette even if Luke ignored him, which wasn't that hard because she was having a harder time trying _not_ to smile. Unfortunately, Jesse caught on it nonetheless. "I am guessing that the first Bella practice went great!"

"Sure." She replied curtly. She said curtly.

"Details?" He pressed on. He pressed.

"Aren't you a Treble?"

"Hey, sue me for being a good friend wanting to know about your day."

"Why don't you just friend Ashley on Facebook or something and leave me alone?" She fired back.

"This isn't about Ashley!" He lied.

"Yeah, right."

"But now that you mention it, she has her account on privacy settings."

"Smart girl!"

"Becaw!" He whined again.

"Don't!" She stopped him, knowing his intentions very well, hating the nickname nonetheless.

"I won't, if you tell me!"

"Promise?" At his eager nod, she sighed in defeat and pulled out her phone, cursing hell as she logged on to Facebook. Browsing through her friends list, she sent a curse to Stacie as well, who had made her add all the Bellas in her account. Sometimes she is scared at the extent of power her best friend has on her.

"Let's see," She said, reading through Ashley's profile, moving away when Jesse tried to peek at the screen. "Name: Ashley Regner. Age: 18. Birthday: January 17th. Best Friend: Jessica Jakle. Likes: music, sports and movies. Dislikes: oh look! It's you!"

"Ha Ha! Very funny!" He said deadpanned, but getting a bit insecure. "Do you think I have a shot?"

"Maybe," Beca shrugged. "But knowing the Bella oath, I think she'd like her vocal cords more than you." _Hey! She was trying to have mercy._ TRYING!

"That's a stupid rule!" He scowled, pouting childishly and sighing. "At least Benji is not a Treble, he likes that Bella, Emily. We saw her in an instagram photo with Ash."

"Ash?" She couldn't help raise an eyebrow at that, but was only met with 'duh' look from the goof, so she focused on his former statement instead. "Though I admit, Benji and Emily would a nice couple. Both are so innocent and cute. At least, if they do, you will have an excuse to trail behind 'Ash'. It's almost sad, actually!"

"I know!" He almost smiled before scowling again. "Stupid Aubrey and her stupid rules!"

"Hey!" Beca suddenly turned towards him, startling him enough to almost drop one of the vinyls that he was holding. "Don't you dare call her stupid!"

"Okay, sorry." Jesse amended quickly, surprised and confused at the sudden harshness in the DJ. "Wow, you okay? Why'd you get so defensive all of a sudden?"

"It's nothing." She turned away, just as quick, calming her own surprise. She really needed to control her newly acquired sisterly instincts, or as her anger issues would have it, she'd be punching anyone who even mentioned the blonde.

Unfortunately, it has happened before, she was almost expelled for punching more than half of the football team for messing with Stacie back in Middle School for being a science geek. But the real surprise was when the same Stacie won them a state championship in volleyball just next year. That girl was a bundle of many talents and Beca was her most protective best friend.

"Really? Cause if I remember correctly, you were ready to pounce at her just a few weeks ago." Of course, he wasn't going to let that go, despite not mentioning it quite as often. Luckily, he shut up after another glare from the brunette.

"Hey, since Ash and I can't go out anytime soon," He spoke again after a while. Clearly, silence was not his forté. "How about we match-make Benji and Emily, so we can at least hang out!"

"You'd use him like that?" Beca raised another eyebrow in mock incredule.

"He likes Emily, she is friends with Ashley, who is ultimately my soulmate. It's a win-win."

"You are a weirdo!"

 **xo**

"All done, Becaw!" Jesse announced, putting away last of the empty crates, wincing at the glare that she gave him at the nickname. "Sorry. Anywho, wanna go grab something to eat. Maybe you can text Ash-"

"Nope!" She cut him off before he could even finish, refusing profusely. "Even if she gave me her number during our Intro to Philosophy class, I am not going to randomly text her and say that my weird friend has a creepy crush on her so we should definitely 'hang out'."

He pouted slightly, getting an eye-roll as a response before he beamed up, realizing something. "So, it's just me and you then? 'Friend!'"

"Nuh-uh. I have plans." Beca dodged, berating herself for accidentally calling him that.

"With who?" He asked, not buying the excuse.

"My sister." She said casually, trying not to give in to her nerves at the concept of it, still glancing at her watch every now and then.

"What?! You have a sister?! There's two of _you_?!" Jesse was surprised, sure, but tried to look completely mortified on purpose until he got a smile out of her.

 _Okay, after all, maybe he was a good…. friend?_ Beca thought reluctantly, watching him gather his stuff in his backpack. That was when the door to the store opened, which was unusual since nobody came in after 5, most of the time. Aubrey walked in, looking for Beca and smiling somewhat nervously when she spotted her.

"Hey, Beca. It's 8 o'clock. Ready to go?" She asked, trying not to fidget with her strap of her handbag, in awkwardness.

"Yeah. Let's go!" Beca jumped off the desk, smiling a little to calm her down, which she visibly did.

"Wait! Y-you? Her?! SISTERS?!" Jesse shouted, stopping the brunette in middle of wearing her jacket and making both sisters turn towards him. He was gaping at them, trying to connect all the dots, watching the rare similarities between them as well as their expressions, now. He opened and closed his open several times, oddly resembling a fish.

Maybe both girls had the same analogy, because they chuckled at him, finding this visual completely hilarious. Will this be what the Bella will look like if they ever found out? At least, now they weren't so nervous like before. This is all workout in their favour. With that thought, they walked out, leaving behind a still dumbfounded Treble with nothing but a shout of:

"BYE, JESSE!"

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

 **A/N: Was it worth the wait? Do you need a funny scene at the pizza place, (because I have one planned *cough*SpySisters*cough*) or just jump ahead a few days?**

 **Also, I ran out of 'ps', didn't I?**

 **Thank you for all your support. Keep reviewing, It helps a lot; (or maybe I am just selfish?).**


	9. Cross Your Heart And Spy Me

**A/N: Just a Fluffy filler. Give me ideas for the future!**

' **until its gone', 'a-ca-guest' and 'JustLettie': Hope this satisfies. Lots of fluff and sibling interaction. And of course, PIZZA!**

 **Flowerashes2: Thank you! Having your trust, I am very flattered. I promise to try my best to keep it.**

 **Artista: I really appreciate your review, but obviously I am not that good of a writer. I love building up the story, I think I am pretty good at the suspense and angst stuff, but I always SUCK at the climax (that's probably why my 95% of the stories are incomplete up to this day). I hope to bring back the excitement in the future; things obviously don't become okay so fast in real life, I only wanted some happy fun chapters before we brace ourselves for the drama. Stick with me? (Man, I say that a lot, don't I?"**

 **Disclaimer** **: This universe belongs to the Awesome people who made sure that Beca and Chloe are back for Pitch Perfect 3. Now we just need Stacie and Aubrey and I'd be E.T. over the moon.**

 **Chapter Nine: Cross Your Heart And Spy Me**

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

"Can we go?"

"Not yet."

"Now?"

"Nuh-uh."

"What about now?"

"No!"

"Can we at least-"

"Chloe!"

"But Stacie-"

"But nothing!"

"I am hungry!"

"It's only been 20 minutes!"

"Fine!" With a last glare and huff, both girls turned their attention back to the pair sitting in one of the semi-circle booths in the back of the Pizza Palace, trying to lip read their conversation. Okay, okay. I know what you're thinking: _This is the second time in one day that they are acting like total creeps and spying on their best friends. Give it a rest!_

But again, in their defense, the records show that the Mitchell sisters can't go 15 minutes without screaming at each other or falling into an extremely awkward silence that would make Charlie Chaplin scream out loud. So, as a precaution, Stacie and Chloe are chaperoning them. (Ignore the fact that they were neither asked, nor authorized to do so.) But mind you, they are thinking only of the greater good in this. Plus, as Flo said at practise today, it's always good to have an extra body; you know, just in case, one of them gets kidnapped for ransom, gets thrown into a shipping container and made to eat only leaves and Gazra seeds.

Uh….. Never mind that second part…..

Anyways, It's been 20 minutes since Stacie and Chloe have been sitting at the shop counter, on furthest seats from any other customers, disguised in large hoodies, hiding their faces behind their respective books. Unfortunately, they were too focused on spying that they forgot to see how ridiculous they must look, because it's definitely not normal for two girls to show up at the most popular pizza place around the campus in almost matching clothings, wearing hoods inside the store and sitting there _without_ a pizza. Which was totally unacceptable in Chloe's head, but Stacie was determined not to get distracted by anything, not even food.

"Come on, Stacie! Lets order something. I haven't eaten since before rehearsals!"

"I promise to buy you dinner, just wait till we know that they are not going to rip each other's head off." Stacie offered and Chloe couldn't help but compromise.

"Alright. But I think they are getting on well, it's already been 10 minutes since they came here and Beca has smiled exactly 5 times."

"Paying close attention, are we?" Stacie couldn't help but tease, looking at her from the corner of her eyes.

"It's not like you haven't. I don't believe for a second that we are only here to chaperone." Chloe grinned at her shock, "I'll admit that I am pretty curious about your best friend, if you admit that you have hots for mine."

"I will do no such thing!"

"I took psychology in my junior year, and believe me dear, denial is stage one of any relationship."

"So, you are a part shrink?"

"Yep."

"Are you any good?"

"Depends. Do you like Aubrey?"

"What? No!" Stacie denied immediately, but got no reply from the redhead, who started actually reading her Russian Literature book. _Do I like Aubrey?_ Of course, she is interesting and all. She is Beca's sister after all.

 _She is pretty amazing, though._

"What?" No response. "Chloe?" Stacie pushed, her voice sounding involuntarily whiny. This time, the senior replied with a pointed look and waited for her to realize it. _Realize what? That I like Aubrey or something? No WAY!_

The brunette was about to say that, but didn't because that'd just be…. _Denying?_

"Oh my god! I like Aubrey!" She whisper yelled, making Chloe giggle. "You ARE good!"

"And hungry!" The redhead continued, eyes flickering to see Beca taking two plates of very delicious looking pizza back to her booth. Oh her stomach!

Without knowing what she was doing, the redhead marched across the place and suddenly slid next to the younger Mitchell, forcing her to slide over, before grabbing one of the pizza slices from her plate and hungrily taking several bites. She moaned appreciatively at the taste, loving the feeling of food finally filling her growling stomach. "Thank you God!" she breathed in between chews.

"You're welcome!" Chloe stopped mid chew to finally look at Beca, who had surprise written all over her face. Her remarkably beautiful face, with her steely blue eyes, her perfectly shaped cheekbones, her straight jawline, that one eyebrow raised, complete with an unconsciously bewitching smile on those soft lip…... She swallowed visibly, not helping herself by falling through those deep eyes, frozen at her spot.

"Stacie! Chloe! Wow! What the- were you spying on us?!" Aubrey exclaimed, after a moment of gaping at the tall brunette who had followed Chloe and slid into the booth as well. The blonde was forced to slide closer to her sister in need of as much personal space as she could get with Stacie pressed next to her. It somehow, weirdly, made her feel sort of comfortably jittery, if that were possible.

Anyways, she was slightly annoyed at their sudden presence when they jumped in on what was supposed to be a reunion of long separated sisters. But, ultimately she was glad they came before she and Beca became sick of the reserved atmosphere around each other; they couldn't just open their hearts out in the middle of a fast food place now, could they? At least, now they don't have to worry about having to have the teary eyed rebonding that the are supposed to have. Or worse, running out of words to say except, well, 'have'.

"Maybe! We just wanted to make sure that there was no head ripping! And we were almost leaving when, Chloe here, got really distracted by something." Stacie explained, gesturing towards the redhead just as she broke away from her staring contest with Beca and finally noticed the other two. She also tried her best not to look at Aubrey, thinking that avoiding her would the best after what she just confessed to herself. This didn't go unnoticed by the blonde, who could only respond with confusion for the time being.

"What? I couldn't help it! I was hungry and SHE had pizza! It's PIZZA!" Chloe argued, trying not to blush with embarrassment, so instead, glaring at Beca like it was all her fault.

"What the- Really?" Beca raised her eyebrow again, amused by her antics. The redhead kept her scowl on, but her eyes suddenly glint with a wounded puppy look that melted the tough DJ on the spot as she sighed. "Okay, It's all my fault. I should've known not to flaunt around pizza! It's PIZZA!"

"Exactly!" Chloe smiled brightly, laughing a little when Beca repeated her words, before turning to the other two. "Plus, she has almost exactly my favourite order."

"Do I?"

"Yeah. Thin crust, with pepperoni, smoked chicken, olives, jalapenos and extra cheese. But since you forgot the Sprite, you lost points there, Mitchell."

"Great, you eat my pizza and still complain." The DJ huffed and pouted, making the rest of them laugh out loud.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" Stacie asked, after mumbling a thanks to Aubrey who handed her a slice of own pizza.

"Ooh! Let me guess!" Chloe jumped in, "Duffy and his pups!"

"Yes," Beca agreed with a chuckle, slowly getting used to the redhead's bubbly personality. Surprisingly, even liking it a bit. Just a bit, though, definitely no more.

"I knew it! Bree has been talking about him all day! I love the story!" Chloe smiled, even getting one out of Aubrey, who still playfully glared at her.

"Beca was just telling me how Duffy became friends with Stacie's golden retriever, Gigi, that Beca got her for her 16th birthday." Aubrey gushed, as Stacie and Beca looked at her with surprise.

"I didn't tell you that I got it for her." Beca said, confused.

"You didn't. I guessed. Correctly, I presume."

"Did you take psychology too?" Stacie asked suspiciously, making both seniors chuckle a little.

"Yes, Chloe and I took it together for a semester. But I guessed this one, solely based on the fact and presumption that Beca still hasn't grown out of the habit of doing adorably cheesy stuff for the people she likes, like getting this pizza despite it being my invitation. Even though now she just acts like it kills her every time."

"Maybe, it does!" Beca retorted, blushing profusely despite the glare she gave.

"Oh yeah? Then, let's talk about our Elementary school music teacher, Ms. Lilly, was it? And the incident with the flower." Aubrey teased, crossing her arms over her stomach as Beca glared at her warningly.

"Ooh! Becs, is this why you were so grumpy all through third grade music classes with Mr. Ethan?" Stacie asked curiously, never to this day knowing why the brunette hated their new teacher back then.

"Oh, I wanna know too! This pizza is a great snack for story telling!" Chloe chimed in, grabbing the last slice from the plate, only to be met with a disbelieving look and pout from Beca. Sure, she had eaten 4 slices already, but Beca never once had a pizza in her life when she didn't get the last slice, because, for her, it was about who got the last say in a conversation, like a show of authority or something.

 _Or maybe, she just wanted to be the one to get all the extra veggies and cheese that fell on the plate from the other slices and are supposed to be eaten with the last one_.

But now, it didn't matter now because Chloe got it, and technically it's only her fourth slice so they are fairly even. Besides, if she was hungry enough to blow their spy cover, she should at least fill her stomach. Beca suddenly found that she weirdly, didn't really mind giving it to the redhead, when normally she would have gotten into a full blown catfight over it with Stacie.

 _Why?_ She didn't have time to dwell upon it because Chloe just simply split the slice and gave a half to Beca with a smile.

"Not hungry anymore, Red?" Beca found herself asking with a smirk, as Chloe giggled at the nickname.

"Not when I have a juicy childhood anecdote to savour on!" She grinned teasingly and then laughed along the others when the DJ groaned.

So, maybe, having their best friends along on this 'reunion' wasn't such a bad thing. Because it just means that there were several more of these amazing moments in the future to look forward to. And there was someone else to buy the next round of food for everyone.

Two things: First, "Spys Pays", and second, Beca doesn't care if the grammar disagrees with that phrase.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

 _A few days later…._

"Come on, Aubrey! Let's just take a break."

"We've to be fully prepared for the regionals, Beca!"

"But the practice doesn't start for another 20 minutes. You've been plotting that flow chart since this morning, nonstop." Beca tried again, but Aubrey wouldn't budge.

The brunette had an early class that morning so she was free by 10am and decided to join her sister in the auditorium since both their best friends had a combine Biochemistry lecture and couldn't be there before the rehearsals. Of course, things got pretty boring around noon, as Aubrey was too busy to talk and Beca wasn't feeling like mixing, so she went out to get them lunch instead, and came back to find that her sister had barely moved. Which ultimately led to their current argument on getting the blonde to take a break.

"Not true, I took a break to talk to you." Aubrey argued, still looking at her work.

"Saying, 'Hey, Beca', isn't exactly talking in my dictionary." Beca rolled her eyes, placing the paper bag on the desk and propping herself beside it. "Now, take a break and eat this food I got you or I swear, I'll erase that stupid board again!"

"We both know you won't." The blonde turned around with a knowing smirk, and obviously her sister saw this as a challenge and raised an eyebrow at her, grabbing a duster from the pencil case. She gave a simple warning look and suddenly the senior caved in exasperation. "Okay! Okay, I'll take a break! Give me that food!"

"Awesome!" Beca smiled, handing her the paper bag. "Summer ceaser salad and a medium lowfat caramel latte with exactly one and half portion cream and three sugars. Still bitter though."

"You are bitter, Ms. I-will-never-drink-coffee-in-my-life!" Aubrey retorted with a small smile at how well the brunette knew her.

"That's as true as me being the best sister you've ever had." She replied with tone of smugness. Cocky, even. "And not drinking bitter coffee technically makes me pretty sweet."

"Sure, let's go with that!" The older Bella rolled her eyes playfully, going through the contents of the bag, getting pleasantly surprised. "Oh my god! You got me a chocolate mini muffin! I guess, you _are_ the best sister ever!"

"Glad we agree." The DJ replied, playfully pushing her luck. "So, can I skip cardio-"

"Nuh-uh."

"But what's the point of having my big sister as a Bella captain if I don't get a free tardy pass?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Both girls were unaware of the door opening and the Bellas piling in; 5 minutes early, impressive. The question came from Stacie, who threw her back pack next to Beca's on a chair and walked over to them.

"Wait- did you say 'sister'?" This time it was Emily, right behind Stacie, having heard the last of their conversation.

"Yo, what's going on?" CR asked, suddenly making the girls realize that no one actually knew of them being sisters. It had felt, surprisingly, so natural for them to connect again after all these years that they just assumed it was normally obvious to everyone else too. Apparently not.

"Oh yeah, Bree and Beca are sisters!" Chloe said with her usual enthusiasm, like it was common knowledge, but the Bellas were only confused furthermore.

"So that's what Benji meant when he said me being Katherine Junk's daughter wasn't such shocking aca-relation as the one Jesse told him about Aubrey." Em rambled in realization, making Beca raise her brow at Jesse's antics. Big mouth.

"Jesse said something similar to me, though he seemed to be stuttering a lot when he talked to me, maybe he was sick." Ashley chimed in, looking thoughtful.

"Maybe he wasn't." Jessica wiggled her brows teasingly as she nudge her best friend, guessing the obvious crush the Treble had on her, making the brunette blush a little.

"Wait! Short Stack and Aca-nazi are related? Am I the only one who is getting pitch slapped here?" Fat Amy cut in, looking at all of them in disbelief.

"How come you are not each other's throats all the time? When I was nine, my brother tried to sell me for a chicken, so…." Flo spoke up, getting uncomfortable several shrugs in return. The Bellas all had different questions and comments that they rapidly fired after that and Beca got really close to having a headache.

The Mitchell sisters looked at their best friends for help, since technically, they were the ones who threw them under this bus. Only, they found them enjoying the show from their relaxing positions on the bleachers, sharing a muffin and smiling the evil smile of theirs. _Wait, how did they get that muffin? It was theirs!_

"I ate my twin in my womb." Silence fell over as the Bellas registered the barely audible whisper from Lilly, looking confused and really uncomfortable.

"Okay, everybody!" Beca called their attention after a while. Her tone chill but serious. "It's not a big deal! Aubrey's my sister. No adoption shit. The real one. The whole package deal, complete with the 'you mess with her, you mess with me' trademark on the box." The girls chuckled heartily at this.

"So, go back to normal rehearsals routine and jog up the stairs or something. Aubrey, I love you. Now, if you will be a good sister and hand me my tardy slip, I'd be in my room, mastering the art of an afternoon nap."

"Aww, Beca. I love you too." Aubrey smiled, grabbing her arm before she walked away. "But nice try!"

"Damn it! I almost had you!" Beca scowled, turning back.

"No, you didn't." The blonde replied, walking back to her work once again.

"Yes, I did."

"No."

"Yes."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yuh-hun."

"Yep, they're definitely sisters!" Fat Amy commented, and the Bellas agreed, watching the usual amusing 'yes' or 'no' bickering between siblings. Stubborn bitches; they might as well be twins.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

 **A/N: Wow! that Pizza scene went way longer than I expected, so I had to cut this chapter short in two scenes. Which ultimately means Riff Off is up next. Angst, or fluff? Your choice, based on what songs and categories you recommend for the Riff Off!**

 **Thank You for the support! Keep Reviewing, you awesome folks!**


	10. Cross Your Heart And Riff Me Off

**A/N: Okay! I think, I got a bit side tracked in the last couple of chapter and almost forgot another important event that happens in the movie, before the Riff Off. And that gave me the idea for this kind of makes-no-sense-spur-of-the-moment-filler chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: Not mine. Though, I am guilty as charged for twisting the plot.**

 **Chapter Ten: Cross Your Heart And Riff Me Off**

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

"I hope you all remember the way you feel right now so you never want to feel this way again." Aubrey vented, taking the lead as the Bellas made their back from the SBT Frat house. They were the worst.

Of course, the new Bellas weren't performance ready yet, and their set was no short of horrible. But, that didn't mean that they should be heckled and kicked out so unceremoniously. That's the reason why frat boys are honoured with the top place in the universal jerk list. Forget the stupid money they were going to get, Aubrey was humiliated and she had to let out her frustration before she lost control and caused: 'Puke-fest Two: Puketacular Horror'.

"Chloe, your voice didn't sound Aguilerian at all!" _Okay, so Chloe's going to have to take this one for the team._ Aubrey decided subconsciously, feeling bad already but can't helping herself.

Chloe, however, didn't reply; which would've been a normal behaviour since she had always been glad to be the one that the blonde trusted enough to open up to. But, this time she just walked ahead of them all and stopped a short distance away, facing the lake. Beca and the other Bellas stayed quiet, letting the seniors handle what they thought wasn't unlike the small disagreements in rehearsals.

"Chloe?" Aubrey asked, now getting a bit worried when the redhead gave no reply, facing away from them. "What's wrong, Beale?"

Suddenly, she turned around, facing them but eyes still cast down and tears clearly visible in them. "I have nodes!" she choked, making them gasp at the revelation.

"Oh my god!" In a second, the blonde was at her best friend's side, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Chloe only nodded her thanks, tears still building up, as she explained her condition.

"I just found out this morning. Apparently, I've been using my vocal chords at above average rate without proper lubrication. And now I am stuck with stupid dream crushing nodes." Redhead went a bit dramatic but no one argued. "The key is early diagnosis, but I am a survivor. Also, this means, I am limited for now. No matter how much I love to sing, I can't do it, because I have nodes."

"At least, it's not herpes!" Fat Amy tried to joke, breaking the silence. Everybody stared at her in disbelief, making her give a sheepish smile and motion zipping her lips and stuffing the pretend key in her cleavage.

"Okay. That's a problem, and we are going have to fix it." Beca spoke up, gaining their attention and some confused looks. "We are going to discuss what to do about the singing at the next meeting. But right now, we are all going to change into something comfortable, meet up at the quad in an hour and head to lunch. Also, get Chloe plenty of water, tea, painkillers, maybe ice cream and a precautional notepad. You are going to rest, not talk and relax those throat muscles. Are we clear?"

Everyone stared in shock as Beca showed this authoritative and demanding side of hers that no doubt made her even more so Aubrey's sister. The blonde was equally surprised, but hardly as mad as she should be about somebody taking over the command of her group. Beca was just helping, like she promised she would, and frankly, this scary but caring side of hers was adorable as much as affective.

With only one more look from the DJ, the Bellas scurried away to their respective dorms, leaving behind only the pair of sisters and their respective best friends. Stacie shot an encouraging smile towards the redhead, who returned it slightly, surprised that neither brunettes showed any pity towards her. Good; she hated pity anyway, Aubrey knew that, she was glad that they understood as well. But, then again, how did they understand?

"How do you know so much about nodes?" Chloe asked curiously, in return, Beca shrugged.

"Beca's Aunt had them a couple of years ago." Stacie explained instead. "She is on Broadway; she found out back when we were in middle school."

"Aunt Debby?" Aubrey raised her brow in question.

"Yep, she got the surgery to remove them." Beca replied smirking at the ridiculous memory. "She flew in from Brooklyn one night, just the spontaneous person she is, and next morning Mom drove us to hospital after school. She got the surgery the day after. Stayed in the hospital for a few days. We visited; she got better. And BOOM, a week later, she flew back again."

"She sounds awesome! Aubrey told me so many stories about how perfect she is that I was beginning to question her reliability." Chloe smiled a little, her attempt to divert the conversation from her condition only caught by Beca, though, who gladly granted her wish.

"You saw Debby?" Stacie asked the blonde, curious to how she got so many stories if she supposedly hadn't seen her aunt in 10 years.

"Dad…." Aubrey replied, sighing. "When he got his tenure, he was often invited to give lectures in different cities. He took me to New York a few times and I was able to convince him that he should leave me at Aunt Debby's house to avoid spending money on hotel charges or baby sitters. He agreed faster than I could ever imagine. But he did warn her to never tell Mom about it. She knew that if she did, he would take me away again, so Aunt Debby never let me contact you either. She just took me to all these 'spontaneous' adventures to keep my mind off you guys and keep my father's approval."

"What a Cheap Jerk!" The taller brunette and the redhead scoffed with a snicker.

"Asshole! He tried his best to keep you away from us, didn't he?" Beca scowled, anger building up. "But then the same jerk brought me here, knowing that we'd meet again. How messed up is that?!"

"I don't know what goes on his head. Why keep us away when he got us together?" Aubrey pondered, making all of them think in silence. The man had a twisted way of thinking, and no doubt if they were curious to why he did it, they were sure they were better off not knowing.

"Doesn't matter now though, you are back together, everything's better and we are going to a-ca-awesome friends!" Chloe squealed after a while; Aubrey and Stacie laughed at this, but Beca remained sober and serious.

"Hold those vocals, Red. I am just getting used to your chirpiness. Don't you dare lose that amazing voice by your silly antics." The DJ warned, slightly concerned but heaven's forbid not letting it show, causing the redhead to let out a small squeak before shutting her mouth with a wide grin; infecting one on Beca's face too. "Now, let's get you some tea and me, some shoes that are not a killing machine."

That said, Beca walked away, Chloe eagerly behind her and Stacie waited for a second to let them get out of hearing distance before squealing loudly at the mere cuteness of the exchange she just saw. Her best friend, the badass DJ, was no doubt whipped and the redhead wasn't far from it either. Stacie wondered how long would it take for Chloe to realize the hold she already had over the tiny brunette.

This was a guaranteed ship, only thing she had wait for, was for it to set sail. She began walking after them but turned around to look at the girl who hadn't moved. Stacie smiled when she saw the confused look on Aubrey's face as she stared after her best friend and sister. "Come along, blondie. Let's get some food into you."

"Am I missing something here?" Aubrey asked instead, still not moving, prompting the tall brunette to come up behind her and playfully push her to walk forward.

"Maybe, but right now, we have food to get to!"

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

"Beca?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Becaw!"

"Dude! Cut it out!"

"Not until you help me!"

"Why me?!"

"Because…" Jesse took a deep breath, which was probably necessary for how he said his next lines in one go. "Because, Aubrey is your sister and she is the Bellas captain and Ashley is a Bella and she took the oath that ultimately forbids her to date a Treblemaker, but Bumper won't let me quit and I want her to go out with me, but Aubrey won't let her, because of the stupid oath. So, I want you to talk to Aubrey to get her to change the rules, so Ashley won't be bound by the oath and will go out with me! Beca, PLEASE!"

"Wow!" Beca breathed, eyes widening at his speech. "Uh… okay… take a breath first."

He did. She continued.

"Okay. Let's get it straight. I am not going talk Aubrey into changing the rules because I can't just change her mind like that. And even if I could, I would spend my chances on getting those ancient songs out of the set, nothing else."

Jesse pouted, and it more so annoyed the brunette instead of impressing her. She rolled her eyes, huffing. "Look, why don't you do those cheesy movie romantic gesture thingys that you told me you wanted to do for me before I told you that you are not my type, and nor is any other guy? Maybe you'll win over my sister's approval too along with Ashley's."

This lit him up and Beca immediately regretted helping him when he started to bite her ear off again while she understood barely a thing he said. At times like these, she was glad that her dyslexia still sometimes allowed her to zone out of the conversations. Coming out of it only to hear his last question.

"Do you think, I should do it at the Riff-Off?"

"What the hell is a Riff-off?" Beca asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, trying to recall if he mentioned it before.

"Hey, Jesse, I am hungry so could you get me some lunch?" Suddenly Luke appeared from the booth, holding a 10 dollar bill that Jesse took. After the Treble suggested him to lay off burgers and Luke flashed his abs smugly before retreating back into the booth, making Beca smirk and Jesse rolled his eyes.

He put back the crate of CDs he was stacking and grabbed his backpack, heading out. Muttering something along the lines of, "So the chest match continues."

"What were you saying about the Riff-off, again?" Beca asked, casually hiding her curiosity. Jesse, however just grinned evilly and shrugged as he walked out.

"You'll find out!"

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

The next day, Bellas entered the rehearsals hall to find their captains, not in the killer mode, surprisingly. In fact, they were smiling at them; Quite creepily even. Freaked out by this display, they silently and cautiously made their way to the seats to put their stuff, glancing nervously at the captains who had yet to say something.

They were waiting for them, with creepy grins, not taking their eyes off and worse, eerily silent as well. Beca was the first one to dare to walk towards them, eyebrow raised suspiciously as she slowly handed a thermos with herbal tea, to Chloe and a small paper bag with a blueberry muffin, to Aubrey. The girls smiled more genuinely this time, (the redhead even slightly surprised at the offering) causing more than a few relieved sighs from the other girls who were waiting for an impending a serial attack or something by the looks of it.

"All right, Bellas! Gather up!" Aubrey shouted, back in character. The girls groans of protest were ignored as Chloe and Aubrey began dividing them in two groups. Confused, the girls allowed themselves to be dragged to the two ends of the room, waiting for an explanation to why they were being used like chess pieces.

As if that were the actual case, the seniors stood among each group, looking like the queens of black and white, nodding at each other with a 'Game On' look. Then, both turned to respective groups and began explaining the rules of the Riff Off, as they were calling it. This 'game' was supposed to teach them how the actual competition will be tomorrow. They were going to practise in teams of two for an hour at least before they worked on their team strategies for breaking out in songs in synchronization.

"Let's start, shall we?" Aubrey said once she was done explaining. She turned to face Chloe, who smiled in agreement and both then walked to the huge bowl that was sitting on the desk in the center. She let Chloe pick first and smiled when the redhead squealed excitedly, only to zip her lips and blush when she caught a warning glare from Beca, behind Aubrey.

The redhead chose a category, written on a folded piece of paper, from the bowl and gave it to Aubrey. The girls waited in excitement, already prepared to belt out into songs that were bouncing in their heads currently. They were going to sing something that was not Ace of Base for a change and Beca couldn't wait like many others. Maybe they would get to do something rock, or punk, or anything from this century. Hell, they would even settle for pop; just as long as it was not something cheesy like-

"Swift Style Country."

Several facepalms and scowls followed Aubrey's words as she read out the category. Apparently, her own face showed some major disappointment because Chloe, though almost resentfully, decided to fish for another category. But before she could do so, Beca caught her millisecond forlorn expression and instead of rolling her eyes like she would normally, she eyed Stacie across the room and sent a silent message. Which, considering the 'whipped' motion she made, the taller brunette got it nice and clear and began singing in her loud, mezzo voice, a teasing smirk in place.

 _"State the obvious,_

 _I didn't have my perfect fantasy._

 _I realized, you loved yourself,_

 _More than you could ever love me!"_

Fat Amy apparently liked this song because she was now adding background vocals with her accent twist and doing some weird form of belly dancing, causing many to laugh.

 _"So, go and tell your friends,_

 _That I am obsessive and crazy._

 _That's fine. I'll tell mine, you're gay._

 _By the way…"_

Finally, the chorus got them pumped because now all of Stacie and Chloe's team; meaning Fat Amy, Flo and Ashley, were singing and humming along. And the redhead was smiling delightfully, so that's Beca's secret little victory, right there. _Gay?_ Probably.

 _"I hate that stupid, old pickup truck,_

 _You never let me drive._

 _You're-"_

Watching the other team dance around and sing was just unacceptable for Cynthia Rose, who cut them off, wanting her own share of the fun. Her rugged voice actually making TSwift's songs more…. appealing, even for the tiny DJ who still stayed out for this one.

 _"You're on your phone with your girlfriend,_

 _She's upset._

 _She's going off about something_

 _That you said._

 _She doesn't get your humor, like I do-"_

 _"Do you remember? We were sitting out, by the water_

 _You put around me, For the first time._

 _You made a rebel out of_

 _A careless man's careful daughter._

 _You are the best-"_

The team had just began to pick up on back vocals for CR when Chloe practically bounced to the center and cut her off. Grinning widely and quite specifically at one tiny brunette who rolled her eyes playfully, hoping that her cheeks weren't as red as she felt. Stacie had to stop herself from laughing at the sight, so she settled for a huge serial killer grin towards her best friend and busied herself with elbowing Fat Amy in the side, who was not-so-subtly making heart gestures at the pair.

Aubrey, seemingly ignorant of the serenading session that was taking place, cut off her best friend. Closing her eyes for a second to relish in the song that had memorized by now. Who knew that a Taylor Swift song could speak to someone like Aubrey Mitchell-Posen of all people?

 _"Best day, with you, today._

 _There is a video I found_

 _From back when I was three;_

 _You set up a paint set in the kitchen_

 _And you're talking to me_

 _It's the age of princesses and pirate ships_

 _And the seven dwarfs._

 _Daddy's smart and You're the prettiest lady,_

 _In the whole wide world_ "

Obviously, Beca did, because she just walked over and playfully sling her arm around her sister's neck and pulls her down a bit, singing along the chorus when it came; tributing one very special person in their lives, Diane Posen, their mother. All the Bellas smiled widely and harmonized along the pair, their competition long forgotten.

 _"Now I know why,_

 _All the trees change in the fall._

 _I know you were on my side_

 _Even when I was wrong_

 _And I love you for giving me your eyes_

 _Staying back and watching me shine and_

 _I didn't know if you knew_

 _So I'm taking this chance to say_

 _That I had the best day with you today."_

And they agreed; it was one the best days that each one of them was going to remember for a long time. Especially the two Mitchell-Posen sisters and their best friends who couldn't help but be smug that they had gotten them together.

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

 _"I gotta bag it up! We out!"_

The crowd burst into applause as Beca sang the last note of 'No Diggity', ending with the whole gangster pose, surrounded by the Bellas as the crowd sang along. It was amazing how all these nerds put their whole hearts and souls in the simplest forms of music and join in with a simple humming to make a song so incredibly perfect that it made Beca 'the Badass' Mitchell like a capella for goodness sake!

No one had dared to cut them off during the whole song. In fact, the Treblemakers and BU Harmonics went as far as joining them in the beats along with the rest of the audience; with an exception of High Notes, who had practically passed out in the corner of the empty pool after being cut off from the competition in the first round. Once the set was finished, there were cheers and whistles all around and the Bellas already began celebrating their win.

"I mean, you are welcome." Beca said somewhat modestly as she smirked at Jesse, who was still in awe. He was is middle of serenading a blushing Ashley with Justin Timberlake's 'Feels like the first time', even getting a sarcastic flying kiss from Beca as an approval, when the brunette had shut him up with rapping all of a sudden.

The crowd had gone silent when she first started singing, some in awe, some in confusion as to how this tiny alt-girl mashed up perfectly with a capella and rapped in likeness to the king himself. The Bellas were too shocked to join her in the vocals for a long while; Stacie and Aubrey furrowing their brows at the song selection, and most not knowing how to create the beats of it. Lily was too shy to do more than just smile shortly, Emily was just too happy to a part of the group that she didn't realize what to do, Ashley was still entranced by Jesse's performance and Jessica was busy teasing her.

The only two who knew the song were Chloe and Fat Amy. But when the former stood stunned, with her mouth open and eyes wide watching Beca send her a subtle wink as she unknowingly sang another one of her Lady Jams, the latter walked forward to join in the lyrics, hoping to mend the stretching silence that followed the rapping. Soon, the others got over their thoughts and recovered the song, performing it to the edge of perfection and having a blast while doing so.

"Tough blow, ladies." Justin announced, once the applause died down, breaking off the early celebration of the Bellas, including the frequent glances between red headed captain and the badass DJ. Justin looked smug, almost as much as Bumper, who came to stand next to him. "The word you needed to match was 'it' and you sang 'its'."

"The winners are once again, THE TREBLEMAKERS!" He hollers as the guys cheer on and accept their prize microphone. Some of them, meaning Jesse, Uni and Donald, looked almost sympathetic, but they were quickly overpowered by Bumper's pride as he held the prize in the air and started mocking the girls.

"I've never heard that rule!" Aubrey shouted in disbelief, rather louder compared to the other sounds of disapproval from the Bellas. She was upset about losing but that didn't even come close to how she felt at Bumpers childish insults; particularly the one directed to the tiny DJ about how she was a 'rap-wannabe' and wouldn't get anywhere because she is a girl. Aubrey almost lunged at him for insulting her baby sister but was pulled back by Stacie of all people, while Beca seemed unaffected except for the shock at seeing the blonde in action.

"Aah! Stacie!" Aubrey fought, prompting the much stronger brunette to throw her over her shoulder and guide the other laughing girls out of the pool.

"Stacie! Put me down!"

"Sheesh, Blondie. Calm your tits." The tall brunette laughed, finally complying to the demands of the screaming captain, just after getting an approvingly amused smile from her sister.

"That was awesome!" Emily said excitedly, referring to the Riff-Off and certainly not the rag-doll treatment of their captain but receiving a glare from the blonde nonetheless.

"But we lost!" She reminded them, scowling at all as she fixed her ruffled clothes.

"Aubrey, it's not about winning." Chloe spoke up, smiling widely at the tiny brunette who deserved the most credit for nailing this night.

"Of course it is!" The blonde captain insisted, beginning to lose her cool once again.

"Woah, Cap'n, give it a chill." CR backed away from where she was closer to her, to avoid the outburst.

"I AM Chill!" She yelled in annoyance, making a few girls back away while Stacie, Chloe and Beca raised an eyebrow in question, making her sigh and speak in a more collected voice. "And that is why you get the rest of week off for thanksgiving. But before you get all too excited, I still want everyone at rehearsals on the weekend after, 10am sharp. No excuses!"

"I-I can't." Beca spoke for the first time since their performance, her voice being heard over the groans of protest from the others at the news.

"Beca, I said, no excuses-"

"I just- I can't." The brunette cut off her sister, shifting her eyes to everywhere but her as she spoke. All of a sudden, the badass B-Mitch looked incredibly uncomfortable, mumbling all her responses, as if talking to herself more than anyone else. After a second she jerked her head towards the captain, surprising her as she exclaimed. "I-I gotta go."

"Wait a second-" Aubrey grabbed her hand before she could move away but let it go immediately when she saw the wild look in her eyes.

"I gotta go, Bee!" And then she sprinted away; ignoring the still going on riff off party, ignoring the Bellas' looks of confusion, and most of all, ignoring the shouts made by both their co-captains.

"Beca, where are you going?!"

"Beca?"

It wasn't a second after she was out of sight that all heads turned to Stacie, hoping the taller brunette would give them some answers. But instead, all she did was:

"Shit!" Stacie exclaimed in sudden realization and without a second thought or glance at the others, she ran after her best friend. "Becs, wait up!"

The girls stood stunned and confused at their actions. A look of clear despair could be seen on the blonde captain's face as her redhead best friend came up next to her for support, her own eyes showing her disappointment, quite the illogical feeling indeed. The awkward silence only broken by Fat Amy, whose attempts to lighten up the mood remained fruitless as usual.

"Woosh, Shorty and Legs are actually taking that cardio shit seriously. The question is, Why?"

 **x-o-x-x-o-x-x-o-x**

 **A/N: I know you hate me, I do too, and this chapter does nothing to amend my mistakes but believe me; starting and studying at a school in United States for the first time in my life is kind of an overkill. The school timings and schedules are just plain annoying, the whole american education system is stupid and for the past three months I've been hanging on to the hope that one day, I might return to my Cambridge Olevels Studies. I am determined to finish my Olevels courses no matter if I am twenty five by the time I leave the US, where there isn't a single person who knows about CIEs, cricket, FIFA, Cadbury, Nestle, or any chocolate that doesn't have an overdose of sugar in it or isn't a chemical mixture for causing diabetes.**

 **Sorry, I needed to rant. And sorry again for the delay. I hope you'll allow me to fix my mistakes. Like it? Hate it? Tell me what I can do. Any ideas on Dada Mitchell's intention behind his actions? Or why Beca ran away at the mention of this particular weekend in November? I am running out of ideas.**


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